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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: bulb · land · rest · toast · cap · band · court · fall

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. band — a ring
  3. fall — to drop
  4. court — of law
  5. toast — bread
  6. band — a music group
  7. rest — what's left
  8. court — for sport
  9. cap — a hat
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. bulb — for light
  13. land — ground
  14. court — of a king
  15. cap — of ice
  16. bulb — for light
  17. land — to come down
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. land — a country
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. toast — the most admired

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