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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: season · kid · rest · bulb · game · fall · foot · row

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bulb — for light
  3. game — wild animals
  4. row — a line
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. row — to paddle
  7. kid — to tease
  8. fall — to drop
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fall — to drop
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. season — of the year
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bulb — for light
  19. foot — a measure
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fall — the season
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. season — in sport
  24. rest — a break

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