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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. capital — a city
  3. row — a line
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bulb — for light
  7. swing — music
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. capital — money
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. march — the month
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bulb — for light
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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