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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: race · bank · degree · bulb · capital · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bank — of a river
  3. race — a contest
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bulb — for light
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bank — for money
  10. bulb — for light
  11. capital — money
  12. degree — an amount
  13. race — humankind
  14. capital — a city
  15. snap — to click
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bank — for 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