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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bulb · arm · capital · last · mine · pound · march · stem

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. capital — money
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bulb — for light
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mine — for digging
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. march — the month
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. stem — a stem cell

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