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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: cap · bulb · tube · spring · foot · deal · capital · wake

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. tube — a container
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. foot — a measure
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. wake — a trail
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spring — of water
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bulb — for light
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. capital — a city
  14. cap — a hat
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. bulb — for light
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — to handle
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. spring — the season
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a lid
  23. tube — the underground
  24. foot — part of the body

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