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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: bound · saw · cap · race · bulb · dip · last · pop

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. race — a contest
  3. last — to go on
  4. cap — a hat
  5. last — finally
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cap — a lid
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. bound — obliged
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cap — of ice
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. pop — soda
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pop — to visit
  16. dip — to sink
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bound — certain
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bound — tied together
  24. pop — music

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