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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 · arm · bulb · board · last · rock · track · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. rock — music
  3. track — to keep track
  4. board — a committee
  5. bulb — for light
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. rock — a stone
  9. board — to get on
  10. cold — an illness
  11. track — a path
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. cold — not warm
  15. last — final
  16. bulb — for light
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. track — a song
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. kid — to tease

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