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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: press · land · cold · bowl · bulb · season

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. season — of the year
  5. land — to come down
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. season — in sport
  12. press — a publisher
  13. land — a country
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. land — ground
  18. season — to add flavour

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