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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bore — to drill
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bore — to tire
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — not warm
  10. capital — money
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cap — of ice
  22. capital — a city
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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