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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 120 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: cold · rash · fan · net · bulb · vault · mark · patient

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. cold — not warm
  6. net — after costs
  7. bulb — for light
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rash — hasty
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. net — in sport
  14. mark — a trace
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. net — for catching
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rash — a series
  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