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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: branch · face · last · spring · bulb · bear · land · cap

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cap — a hat
  3. last — finally
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. land — a country
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. last — to go on
  8. face — part of the head
  9. branch — a division
  10. face — to confront
  11. land — ground
  12. bear — the animal
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. spring — the season
  18. land — to come down
  19. cap — of ice
  20. spring — of water
  21. bear — the animal
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

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