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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · cabinet · cold · kid · tube · bulb · march · can

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cold — an illness
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bulb — for light
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. swing — music
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. can — a tin
  10. tube — a container
  11. march — music
  12. can — to be able to
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. tube — the underground
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. kid — to tease
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — not warm
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bulb — for light
  21. march — the month
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. kid — child
  24. bulb — of a plant

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