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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 120 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 · snap · cabinet · bay · degree · field · prune · bulb

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bulb — for light
  3. capital — a city
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. snap — to click
  6. prune — to trim
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. degree — an amount
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. field — for sport
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. field — a subject
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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