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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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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 · toast · cap · tear · capital · bulb · swing · pit

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. cap — a hat
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bulb — for light
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. toast — bread
  10. bulb — for light
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. last — to go on
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. cap — of ice
  19. swing — to play on
  20. tear — to rip
  21. swing — music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pit — a hole
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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