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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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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: last · toast · cap · tear · capital · bulb

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bulb — for light
  3. last — to go on
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. bulb — for light
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. last — finally
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. tear — from crying
  12. toast — bread
  13. capital — a city
  14. cap — a hat
  15. capital — money
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. last — final

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