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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: spring · bulb · lean · race · dip · kid · cap · foot

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. spring — of water
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bulb — for light
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. lean — to bend
  7. race — a contest
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cap — of ice
  11. race — humankind
  12. spring — the season
  13. kid — to tease
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bulb — for light
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. kid — child
  21. dip — to sink
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. lean — thin
  24. cap — a lid

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