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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: mine · fall · cold · lean · bat · craft · rest · bulb

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. lean — thin
  15. bulb — for light
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rest — a break
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fall — the season
  23. craft — a skill
  24. fall — to drop

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