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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: cap · spell · row · cold · deal · wave · bulb · net

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. net — in sport
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. spell — a short time
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. deal — to handle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. spell — letters
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. bulb — for light
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bulb — for light
  20. net — for catching
  21. row — a line
  22. cap — a hat
  23. spell — magic
  24. cap — of ice

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