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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. net — in sport
  4. race — humankind
  5. capital — money
  6. net — after costs
  7. charge — a price
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. capital — a city
  10. wake — a trail
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. charge — electricity
  14. charge — in control
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. swing — music
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. swing — in golf
  20. race — the arms race
  21. net — for catching
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. race — a contest

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