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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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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: tube · vault · bulb · capital · spring · wind · perch · fork

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. perch — the fish
  3. capital — money
  4. tube — the underground
  5. spring — of water
  6. bulb — for light
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. spring — a coil
  23. capital — a city
  24. tube — a container

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