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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · mine · bulb · stand · capital · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. 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. bat — the animal
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. stand — to bear
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bulb — for light
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. 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