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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: cold · straw · bear · march · fall · file · suit · bulb

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. suit — clothes
  3. file — a document
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cold — not warm
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — the season
  11. bulb — for light
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bear — the animal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. suit — to fit
  18. march — music
  19. suit — in cards
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bear — the animal

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