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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pit — in a race
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pit — a hole
  12. capital — money
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wind — moving air
  16. drill — army training
  17. cold — an illness
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. drill — the tool
  22. scale — in music
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. capital — a city

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