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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. capital — a city
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. court — of a king
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. current — electric
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. pass — a permit
  12. capital — money
  13. court — for sport
  14. degree — from a university
  15. current — of water
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. current — happening now
  20. fork — in a road
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. court — of law
  24. degree — temperature

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