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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. drill — a practice
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. last — final
  8. capital — a city
  9. last — to go on
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. drill — army training
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. capital — money
  14. date — the fruit
  15. drill — the tool
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. spring — the season
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bulb — for light
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. spring — of water
  24. last — finally

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