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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: wind · toast · bay · pit · cap · capital

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. capital — a city
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pit — a hole
  10. capital — money
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cap — of ice
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pit — in a race
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. cap — a hat

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