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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. capital — a city
  4. game — wild animals
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. game — a match
  7. bulb — for light
  8. last — finally
  9. capital — money
  10. season — of the year
  11. mug — a face
  12. rash — a series
  13. last — to go on
  14. mug — to rob
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. last — final
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. mug — a cup
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. rash — hasty
  24. game — a kind of play

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