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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 116 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: capital · tear · bulb · hand · wake · press · saw · key

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bulb — for light
  5. press — newspapers
  6. capital — money
  7. wake — a trail
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. press — to push
  12. key — in music
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. capital — a city
  18. saw — the tool
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. saw — the tool
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. key — for a lock

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