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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: stem · bulb · fall · capital · spell · season · rock · bowl

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  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. spell — magic
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rock — music
  4. season — of the year
  5. spell — letters
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. season — in sport
  9. capital — money
  10. fall — the season
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. capital — a city
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. fall — to drop
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stem — to come from
  22. spell — a short time
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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