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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 116 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 · club · prune · tube · bulb · current · race · hide

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. race — humankind
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. current — of water
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. prune — to trim
  10. current — electric
  11. current — happening now
  12. bulb — for light
  13. club — for golf
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — a group
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. race — a contest
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. race — the arms race

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