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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.

Make a worksheet

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: bulb · cold · bark · tube · saw · chair · wound · coach

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cold — not warm
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bulb — for light
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. chair — a leader
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cold — an illness
  24. tube — a container

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