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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bulb — for light
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. capital — a city
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bore — to drill
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — a law
  17. bore — to tire
  18. branch — a division
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  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