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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  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. file — a line of people
  3. bulb — for light
  4. snap — to click
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. file — a tool
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. capital — money
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bulb — for light
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. file — a document
  23. pass — a permit
  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