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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: bulb · arm · board · file · degree · toast · capital · cap

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cap — of ice
  4. file — a tool
  5. capital — money
  6. board — to get on
  7. toast — bread
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. board — a committee
  11. capital — a city
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bulb — for light
  16. file — a document
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bulb — for light
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. cap — a lid
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. arm — part of the body

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