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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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. season — of the year
  4. cold — an illness
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — a law
  8. row — a line
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bulb — for light
  14. capital — money
  15. wax — to grow
  16. row — to paddle
  17. capital — a city
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. season — in sport
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. wax — in the ear

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