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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 · last · rest · race · season · bulb · degree · nail

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. capital — a city
  3. bulb — for light
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. rest — what's left
  6. degree — an amount
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. last — to go on
  9. degree — temperature
  10. rest — what's left
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. degree — from a university
  14. race — humankind
  15. season — of the year
  16. last — final
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. capital — money
  19. bulb — for light
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. last — finally
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. race — a contest
  24. season — in sport

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