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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 to change the light ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cap — a lid
  3. spell — letters
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cap — of ice
  7. snap — to click
  8. wound — an injury
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. cap — a hat
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spell — a short time
  20. capital — money
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to tire
  24. spell — magic

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