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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: cell · last · cap · fall · bulb · wind

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cell — a phone
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. fall — the season
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — a hat
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cap — of ice

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