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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bat — the animal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. game — a match
  14. saw — the tool
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. game — wild animals
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. capital — a city
  23. bulb — for light
  24. kick — in football

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