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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: key · saw · cold · hand · season · bulb · fall · press

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. key — in music
  5. saw — the tool
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bulb — for light
  8. saw — the tool
  9. season — of the year
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. hand — help
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cold — not warm
  16. press — to push
  17. bulb — for light
  18. key — the most important part
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. season — in sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. hand — in cards

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