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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. land — a country
  3. bulb — for light
  4. snap — to click
  5. can — a tin
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. can — a tin
  10. craft — boats
  11. spring — a coil
  12. land — ground
  13. can — to be able to
  14. bore — to tire
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. land — to come down
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. capital — a city
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bulb — for light
  24. capital — money

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