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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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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: wake · chair · bulb · bat · mark · suit · race · cold

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. suit — to fit
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mark — a trace
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. suit — in cards
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a grade

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