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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: nail · branch · pop · drill · race · bulb · capital · kid

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. drill — army training
  3. capital — money
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pop — soda
  7. drill — the tool
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. kid — child
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kid — to tease
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pop — music
  16. race — the arms race
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. race — humankind
  19. bulb — for light
  20. race — a contest
  21. pop — to visit
  22. drill — a practice
  23. capital — a city
  24. branch — a division

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