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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: rash · kid · key · bulb · hand · tube · leaves · capital

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. capital — money
  5. rash — a series
  6. kid — child
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bulb — for light
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. hand — help
  12. key — the most important part
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. key — in music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. key — for a lock
  17. rash — hasty
  18. capital — a city
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bulb — for light
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tube — a container
  24. leaves — of a tree

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