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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: cap · race · pitch · bulb · tear · wake

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wake — a trail
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. cap — of ice
  16. race — humankind
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cap — a lid

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