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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 · pop · capital · land · ground · lie · bulb

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pop — soda
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. land — ground
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bulb — for light
  9. capital — money
  10. lie — to recline
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. pop — music
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pop — to visit
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. land — to come down
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. ground — a position
  22. season — of the year
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bulb — of a plant

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