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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 120 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: ball · chair · capital · present · bulb · land · fan · wound

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. land — a country
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bulb — for light
  9. land — ground
  10. capital — money
  11. present — a gift
  12. capital — a city
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. ball — a great time
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — to come down
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chair — a leader
  22. present — there
  23. bulb — for light
  24. ball — a dance

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