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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: coach · snap · capital · bulb · lean · sharp · wound · band

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. snap — to click
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a music group
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wound — an injury
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. band — a ring
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wound — an injury
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. lean — thin
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. coach — a trainer

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