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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: present · toast · cabinet · capital · cold · fork

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — the time now
  7. capital — a city
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. present — there
  11. cold — an illness
  12. toast — bread
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cold — not warm

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