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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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468
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: last · cap · bulb · mate · chair · calf · hand · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. 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. fall — to drop
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. fall — the season
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mate — to breed
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chair — a leader
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. last — final
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. last — to go on
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. bulb — for light
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. last — finally
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. 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