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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: cap · kid · foot · rule · bat · bulb · last · jam

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. last — final
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rule — a law
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. last — finally
  15. rule — government
  16. last — to go on
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. kid — child
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bulb — for light
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. kid — to tease
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. bat — the animal

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