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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: cap · net · wind · rest · last · pit · hand · bulb

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. pit — a hole
  3. rest — a break
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — after costs
  6. bulb — for light
  7. last — final
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cap — a hat
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cap — a lid
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. net — for catching
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. hand — help
  18. net — in sport
  19. last — to go on
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bulb — for light
  22. rest — what's left
  23. last — finally
  24. hand — part of the body

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