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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bulb — for light
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. cold — an illness
  9. hand — in cards
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. season — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. season — of the year
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bulb — for light
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. hand — help
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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