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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: bulb · wake · bear · charge · spring · scale · foot · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. scale — in music
  7. foot — a measure
  8. charge — in control
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bear — the animal
  11. charge — a price
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spring — the season
  14. bear — the animal
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. scale — size or range
  18. spring — of water
  19. bulb — for light
  20. spring — a coil
  21. charge — electricity
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bear — to put up with

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