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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 116 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: bulb · capital · calf · wind · last · mine · pitcher · chip

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. last — to go on
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chip — for betting
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. last — finally
  12. bulb — for light
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. capital — a city
  18. last — final
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. chip — to eat
  22. capital — money
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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