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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 120 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. can — a tin
  3. spring — of water
  4. can — to be able to
  5. race — humankind
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. kid — child
  9. capital — a city
  10. field — for sport
  11. race — a contest
  12. can — a tin
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. bulb — for light
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. race — the arms race
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — government
  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