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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. land — ground
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. spell — letters
  7. land — to come down
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. capital — money
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. spell — magic
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. capital — a city
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bulb — for light
  19. spring — the season
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spring — of water
  22. sharp — clever
  23. land — a country
  24. spring — a coil

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