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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: fine · bat · bore · bulb · track · chest · prune · capital

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. capital — money
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chest — a box
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bore — to drill
  8. track — a song
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bore — to tire
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. track — to keep track
  19. capital — a city
  20. chest — of your body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bulb — for light
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. track — a path

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