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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: jam · roll · bulb · wind · cold · row · chest · can

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bulb — for light
  5. roll — a list
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. row — a line
  8. chest — a box
  9. roll — a cake
  10. can — a tin
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wind — moving air
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. can — a tin
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. can — to be able to
  22. cold — an illness
  23. row — to paddle
  24. roll — on a roll

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