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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 116 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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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: bay · bulb · wind · court · squash · capital · pit · hand

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — of law
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bulb — for light
  7. court — of a king
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. hand — in cards
  10. court — for sport
  11. capital — a city
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. hand — help
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. squash — the sport
  24. capital — money

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