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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kid — child
  6. ground — the earth
  7. kid — to tease
  8. capital — a city
  9. chest — a box
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. chest — of your body
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bass — low music
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. ground — a position
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. capital — money
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bulb — for light

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