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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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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: arm · cold · bear · bulb · snap · rash · fall · coach

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fall — to drop
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. snap — to click
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. rash — a series
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bulb — for light
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fall — the season
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bear — the animal

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