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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bear · pit · clip · patient · cold · coach · can · bulb

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. can — a tin
  3. bear — the animal
  4. clip — a video
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bear — the animal
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. can — to be able to
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pit — in a race
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. can — a tin
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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