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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: cap · land · cold · object · toast · spell · tube · bay

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cap — a lid
  6. land — a country
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. land — ground
  11. object — an aim
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cap — a hat
  16. land — to come down
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. object — to protest
  20. spell — magic
  21. toast — bread
  22. cap — of ice
  23. object — a thing
  24. tube — a container

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