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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 116 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 · bear · row · staff · branch · cabinet · net · bulb

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. staff — employees
  7. net — for catching
  8. bulb — for light
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. staff — employees
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. cold — not warm
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. net — in sport
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bear — the animal
  18. net — after costs
  19. cold — an illness
  20. row — a line
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bear — the animal

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