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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 120 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: hide · branch · capital · bowl · bulb · cap · game · band

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. capital — a city
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. band — a ring
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bulb — for light
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cap — a lid
  10. game — a match
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. branch — a division
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. game — wild animals
  20. capital — money
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cap — a hat

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