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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: arm · mine · bulb · field · cap · season · wind · capital

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cap — a lid
  3. capital — money
  4. mine — for digging
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bulb — for light
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. field — a subject
  10. season — of the year
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. capital — a city
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bulb — for light
  18. season — in sport
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cap — of ice
  21. field — farmland
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. field — for sport
  24. cap — a hat

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