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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: sharp · bulb · spell · capital · bore · bat · deal · net

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bulb — for light
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. net — after costs
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. capital — money
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. spell — letters
  15. bore — to drill
  16. spell — magic
  17. net — for catching
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. sharp — clever
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bat — the animal
  22. net — in sport
  23. bore — gave birth
  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