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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: trunk · tear · pound · capital · drill · racket · plane · bulb

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. capital — money
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. plane — a tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. tear — to rip
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. bulb — for light
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. drill — army training
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. plane — an aircraft

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