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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 · board · cold · bound · mine · trunk · mug · bulb

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bound — certain
  4. capital — a city
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bound — obliged
  9. mug — a cup
  10. board — to get on
  11. capital — money
  12. board — a committee
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mug — a face
  16. bound — tied together
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bulb — for light
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cold — an illness
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of a tree

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