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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pit · bulb · land · lean · file · season · track

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. season — in sport
  5. lean — thin
  6. track — to keep track
  7. file — a tool
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pit — in a race
  10. land — ground
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. land — a country
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pit — a hole
  18. track — a song
  19. cold — an illness
  20. season — of the year
  21. bulb — for light
  22. track — a path
  23. bulb — for light
  24. land — to come down

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