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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: bulb · chip · pit · craft · tear · bat · capital · wax

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. capital — a city
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bulb — for light
  5. tear — from crying
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. capital — money
  8. chip — to eat
  9. craft — boats
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. chip — for betting
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bat — the animal
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bulb — for light
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bulb — of a plant

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