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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: present · can · capital · season · bulb · rock · row · kid

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. row — a line
  3. present — a gift
  4. season — of the year
  5. kid — child
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. can — a tin
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. capital — money
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. can — a tin
  14. capital — a city
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. present — there
  17. can — to be able to
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. present — the time now
  23. rock — a stone
  24. row — to paddle

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