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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cap — a hat
  5. ground — a position
  6. capital — a city
  7. prune — to trim
  8. capital — money
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bulb — for light
  11. key — in music
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. ground — crushed
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cap — a lid
  16. pass — a permit
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. ground — the earth
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — the most important part
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cap — of ice
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bulb — for light

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