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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.

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: content · mark · file · patient · bulb · land · coach · cold

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. file — a tool
  3. mark — a grade
  4. file — a line of people
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. content — the amount
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. content — happy
  10. land — ground
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. land — a country
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. land — to come down
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bulb — for light
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. mark — a trace
  22. cold — an illness
  23. file — a document
  24. coach — a trainer

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