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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 · cap · bark · bear · bulb · chair · object

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. cap — a hat
  5. chair — a leader
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cap — of ice
  8. object — an aim
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. object — to protest
  15. bulb — for light
  16. object — a thing
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bear — the animal
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bulb — of a plant

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