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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. capital — a city
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — certain
  7. bear — the animal
  8. field — a subject
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. capital — money
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bound — obliged
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. field — farmland
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. field — for sport
  19. bear — the animal
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bulb — for light
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. clip — for paper

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