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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: capital · bulb · wound · rash · board · jam · hand · snap

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. wound — an injury
  4. capital — a city
  5. rash — a series
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. hand — in cards
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. rash — hasty
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bulb — for light
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. hand — help
  18. capital — money
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. board — to get on
  21. bulb — for light
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bulb — of a plant

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