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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: ground · bulb · plane · mouse · capital · cap · spring · present

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. present — a gift
  3. ground — crushed
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. ground — a position
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. present — the time now
  12. spring — of water
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cap — a hat
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. present — there
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cap — a lid
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — the season
  21. cap — of ice
  22. capital — a city
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. capital — money

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