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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: press · land · cold · bowl · bulb · season · mate · clip

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. press — a publisher
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. season — of the year
  6. mate — to breed
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bulb — for light
  13. press — to push
  14. cold — not warm
  15. land — ground
  16. press — newspapers
  17. land — a country
  18. clip — a video
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. season — in sport
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. land — to come down
  24. clip — for paper

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