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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: rest · fine · cold · season · kid · bulb · lean · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bulb — for light
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lean — thin
  5. cold — not warm
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. rest — a break
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. kid — child
  13. cold — an illness
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fine — all right
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — high quality
  21. season — in sport
  22. rest — what's left
  23. season — of the year
  24. cold — the Cold War

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