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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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 big letter
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. file — a tool
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. kid — child
  12. file — a line of people
  13. craft — a skill
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. craft — boats
  17. bulb — for light
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bulb — for light
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. root — of a word
  24. file — a document

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