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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 120 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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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 · stick · pit · mark · mine · bear · bulb · chest

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bulb — for light
  6. mark — a grade
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. chest — a box
  10. pit — in a race
  11. mark — a trace
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pit — a hole
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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