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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: wound · bear · cabinet · plane · capital · degree · game · bulb

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wound — an injury
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bulb — for light
  13. game — wild animals
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wound — an injury
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bear — the animal
  19. plane — a tool
  20. game — a match
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. capital — money
  24. bear — the animal

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