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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. capital — money
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wind — moving air
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. branch — a division
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. date — the fruit
  22. bore — to tire
  23. capital — a city
  24. leaves — lets stay

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