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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 · capital · mug · patient · bark · wound · land · bulb

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bulb — for light
  3. capital — a city
  4. season — of the year
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mug — to rob
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. land — ground
  11. season — in sport
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wound — an injury
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. capital — money
  18. bulb — for light
  19. mug — a cup
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. mug — a face
  22. land — to come down
  23. wound — an injury
  24. capital — a big letter

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