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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 120 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: lie · fall · cap · pound · bulb · capital · cold · face

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bulb — for light
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cap — of ice
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cap — a hat
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cap — a lid
  15. capital — money
  16. face — to point toward
  17. fall — the season
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fall — to drop
  21. face — part of the head
  22. capital — a city
  23. bulb — for light
  24. face — to confront

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