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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 124 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  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. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. file — a tool
  4. bulb — for light
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. file — a line of people
  8. spell — letters
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. file — a document
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bulb — for light
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bulb — of a plant
  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