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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: cold · bulb · pound · track · saw · capital · chip · temple

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bulb — for light
  4. capital — money
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. saw — the tool
  8. track — a path
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cold — an illness
  12. saw — the tool
  13. chip — to eat
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chip — for betting
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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