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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: bear · pop · pass · tube · bulb · capital · stem · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. capital — money
  3. pop — soda
  4. bulb — for light
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. pop — music
  12. pass — a permit
  13. stem — to come from
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. pop — to visit
  18. tube — a container
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. tube — the underground
  23. bulb — for light
  24. capital — a city

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