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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: ruler · last · wind · fall · trunk · bulb · band · capital

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. last — to go on
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bulb — for light
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. band — a ring
  8. last — finally
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. last — final
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. capital — money
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. band — a music group
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. bulb — for light
  18. capital — a city
  19. fall — to drop
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fall — the season
  24. capital — a big letter

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