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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: fan · mate · land · bulb · cold · tube · season · pit

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mate — a friend
  4. land — a country
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bulb — for light
  9. season — of the year
  10. tube — a container
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. land — ground
  13. pit — a hole
  14. mate — to breed
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. season — in sport
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pit — in a race
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bulb — for light
  23. land — to come down
  24. season — to add flavour

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