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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: capital · rest · last · cold · roll · hand · lean · bulb

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. lean — thin
  5. last — finally
  6. rest — what's left
  7. last — to go on
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cold — not warm
  10. roll — a cake
  11. lean — to bend
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. capital — money
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. cold — an illness
  17. last — final
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. hand — help
  21. bulb — for light
  22. capital — a city
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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