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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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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: saw · cap · bank · fork · stem · face · bulb · cold

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bank — for money
  6. cold — not warm
  7. face — to confront
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. saw — the tool
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. face — to point toward
  24. stem — to come from

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