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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 · mate · bulb · fall · cabinet · chair · chip · plane

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cold — not warm
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. fall — the season
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. mate — to breed
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mate — a friend
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. mate — a partner
  18. fall — to drop
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. fall — to drop
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bulb — for light
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chip — for betting

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