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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: bowl · bulb · wake · scale · capital · tear · spring · safe

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. tear — from crying
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. spring — a coil
  6. capital — money
  7. scale — in music
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. scale — size or range
  14. spring — of water
  15. tear — from crying
  16. spring — the season
  17. bulb — for light
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. tear — to rip
  22. capital — a city
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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