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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: face · last · cold · bulb · capital · deal · race · cap

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cold — not warm
  3. last — to go on
  4. race — a contest
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. capital — money
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. deal — to handle
  10. cap — a lid
  11. race — humankind
  12. face — to confront
  13. cold — an illness
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a hat
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. last — finally
  20. capital — a city
  21. last — final
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. face — to point toward
  24. face — part of the head

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