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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: coach · trunk · bulb · date · capital · rush · spring · chair

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. date — the fruit
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. capital — money
  12. chair — a leader
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rush — hurry
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. spring — the season
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. spring — of water
  23. capital — a city
  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