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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: season · cabinet · plane · bulb · capital · fall · rock · shower

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. rock — music
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. rock — a stone
  5. season — in sport
  6. capital — a city
  7. fall — the season
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. fall — to drop
  16. shower — rain
  17. plane — a tool
  18. capital — money
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. shower — to wash

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