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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: can · cold · bulb · scale · wake · land · chair · bass

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — an illness
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. can — to be able to
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. scale — in music
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wake — a trail
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. can — a tin
  21. land — to come down
  22. bass — low music
  23. can — a tin
  24. chair — a leader

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