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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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Word bank
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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: capital · toast · bat · bulb · ball · snap

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bat — the animal
  3. ball — a dance
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. capital — a city
  7. bulb — for light
  8. toast — bread
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. ball — a great time
  12. snap — to click
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. capital — money
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bulb — of a plant

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