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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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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: bowl · bulb · fall · capital · wave · land · race · tear

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. land — a country
  3. bulb — for light
  4. land — ground
  5. capital — money
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. fall — to drop
  8. race — the arms race
  9. land — to come down
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bulb — for light
  13. fall — the season
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. capital — a city
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. fall — to drop
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — humankind
  24. bowl — to roll

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