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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. current — of water
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bank — for money
  7. pop — to visit
  8. current — electric
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bank — for money
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. tear — from crying
  14. last — finally
  15. bank — of a river
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bulb — for light
  18. current — happening now
  19. mine — for digging
  20. last — final
  21. pop — music
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. pop — soda
  24. last — to go on

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