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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: track · mouse · bulb · last · chair · bat · rest · cold

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rest — what's left
  8. track — a song
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. track — a path
  11. rest — a break
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rest — what's left
  16. last — final
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bulb — for light
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. chair — a leader
  21. last — to go on
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cold — not warm
  24. last — finally

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