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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spring · spell · bat · rest · capital · scale · rush · bulb

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — letters
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bulb — for light
  6. scale — in music
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. capital — a city
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — hurry
  12. spring — of water
  13. rest — a break
  14. bulb — for light
  15. capital — money
  16. spring — the season
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — size or range
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spell — magic

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