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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 116 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: track · capital · cold · dip · firm · bear · pitcher · bulb

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. firm — steady
  3. capital — money
  4. track — a song
  5. capital — a city
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bear — the animal
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bear — the animal
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. firm — a company
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — to keep track
  22. firm — decided
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. dip — a sauce

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