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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: lash · land · cue · cap · arm · bulb · cold · track

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cue — a hint
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. cue — for pool
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. track — a song
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cap — a hat
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. bulb — for light
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a path
  23. bulb — for light
  24. land — a country

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