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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: degree · season · trunk · capital · bulb · wave · chair · fan

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. capital — a city
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. season — in sport
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chair — a leader
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bulb — for light
  17. degree — from a university
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. degree — temperature
  23. capital — money
  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