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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.

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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 · patient · bulb · clip · season · deal · saw · plane

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. season — of the year
  3. clip — to cut
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. saw — the tool
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. season — in sport
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. plane — a tool
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bulb — for light
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bulb — for light
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. capital — money
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. deal — to handle
  23. saw — the tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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