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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 120 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: bulb · chest · cabinet · coach · cold · degree · chip · lash

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bulb — for light
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. degree — an amount
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bulb — for light
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. chip — to eat
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. chest — a box
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. degree — from a university
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cold — an illness

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