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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. key — for a lock
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rush — hurry
  5. season — in sport
  6. current — of water
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. key — in music
  11. season — of the year
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. content — happy
  14. key — the most important part
  15. content — the amount
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bulb — for light
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. capital — money
  21. current — electric
  22. bulb — for light
  23. current — happening now
  24. capital — a city

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