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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: spell · mate · wound · cold · coach · foot · net · bulb

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cold — an illness
  5. spell — letters
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — not warm
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. spell — a short time
  12. mate — a partner
  13. foot — a measure
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. net — in sport
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. spell — magic
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. cold — the Cold War

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