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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. foot — a measure
  3. capital — money
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bulb — for light
  7. capital — a city
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. clip — a video
  12. last — to go on
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. mate — a partner
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. rush — hurry
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mate — to breed
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. clip — to cut

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