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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. bulb — for light
  5. capital — a city
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — a hat
  14. capital — money
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cap — of ice
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. degree — temperature
  22. spring — the season
  23. bear — the animal
  24. racket — a loud noise

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