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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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. tube — in a tire
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. shower — rain
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cap — a hat
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cap — a lid
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bulb — for light
  18. capital — a city
  19. cap — of ice
  20. tube — the underground
  21. capital — money
  22. tube — a container
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bay — a horse colour

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