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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cap · date · ball · toast · game · capital · bulb · cold

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  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. cap — of ice
  2. cold — not warm
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. date — the fruit
  7. capital — a city
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. toast — bread
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cold — an illness
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. ball — a dance
  20. game — a match
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cap — a lid
  23. ball — a great time
  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