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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: deal · bulb · fine · racket · cold · last · pound · season

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. fine — high quality
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. last — final
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cold — not warm
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. fine — all right
  15. deal — to handle
  16. season — of the year
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. pound — a weight

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