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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 · capital · fork · toast · foot · mark · cold · chip

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bulb — for light
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. toast — bread
  7. chip — for betting
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mark — a grade
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. mark — a trace
  17. capital — a city
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bulb — for light
  22. chip — to eat
  23. fork — in a road
  24. foot — a measure

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