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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: hand · season · cue · bulb · spring · land · vault · capital

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. capital — money
  3. cue — a hint
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cue — a signal
  7. spring — a coil
  8. hand — help
  9. spring — the season
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. vault — a safe
  13. cue — for pool
  14. hand — in cards
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. season — in sport
  19. bulb — for light
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bulb — for light
  22. spring — of water
  23. capital — a city
  24. bulb — of a plant

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