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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: toast · bore · last · capital · bound · foot · clip · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bound — certain
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. last — final
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. clip — to cut
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. toast — bread
  13. capital — money
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bore — to drill
  16. clip — a video
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bound — tied together
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. cap — a lid
  23. clip — for paper
  24. capital — a city

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