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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 116 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. pop — music
  3. capital — a city
  4. staff — employees
  5. hand — in cards
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. face — part of the head
  12. file — a tool
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bulb — for light
  15. staff — employees
  16. pop — soda
  17. capital — money
  18. bulb — for light
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. staff — a stick
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pop — to visit
  23. hand — help
  24. nail — for a hammer

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