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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: bulb · stick · cold · land · cue · jam · pitcher · wind

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bulb — for light
  7. land — ground
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. land — to come down
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cue — a signal
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cue — a hint
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. land — a country
  23. bulb — for light
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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