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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: snap · trunk · mine · capital · fall · drill · bulb · squash

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bulb — for light
  4. drill — the tool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. squash — to crush
  17. drill — a practice
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bulb — for light
  20. capital — money
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. drill — army training

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