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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bulb — for light
  3. spell — magic
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. march — music
  9. mug — to rob
  10. cold — not warm
  11. spell — a short time
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. bulb — for light
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. spell — letters
  17. mug — a face
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mug — a cup
  22. capital — money
  23. march — the month
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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