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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: mine · spring · tear · rock · capital · bulb · key · can

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bulb — for light
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mine — for digging
  9. can — a tin
  10. key — for a lock
  11. spring — of water
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. key — the most important part
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. can — a tin
  17. key — in music
  18. can — to be able to
  19. bulb — for light
  20. spring — the season
  21. tear — to rip
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rock — a stone
  24. tear — from crying

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