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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: hand · capital · fall · vault · pop · bulb · row · degree

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. degree — from a university
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pop — music
  8. fall — to drop
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pop — to visit
  11. capital — money
  12. degree — temperature
  13. hand — help
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. hand — in cards
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. capital — a city
  20. fall — the season
  21. vault — a safe
  22. pop — soda
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bulb — for light

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