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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. capital — a city
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bore — to tire
  8. mark — a trace
  9. rash — hasty
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. cold — an illness
  12. season — of the year
  13. mark — a grade
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bore — to drill
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rash — a series
  23. capital — money
  24. bulb — for light

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com