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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: last · bulb · chest · fork · season · coach · charge · cell

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bulb — for light
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bulb — for light
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. season — in sport
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chest — of your body
  12. charge — electricity
  13. cell — a phone
  14. charge — in control
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. charge — a price
  20. fork — in a road
  21. last — final
  22. season — of the year
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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