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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: last · bulb · wound · capital · cold · calf · sharp · jam

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. capital — money
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. cold — an illness
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. capital — a city
  11. last — to go on
  12. bulb — for light
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. last — finally
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. last — final
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. cold — not warm
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wound — an injury

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