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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: chair · cold · kid · rock · key · bowl · bulb · straw

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. kid — to tease
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. key — in music
  16. bulb — for light
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. kid — child
  19. key — the most important part
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. chair — a leader
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. rock — music

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