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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: track · bulb · face · cap · coach · bound · cold · spring

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bound — certain
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. face — part of the head
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. track — to keep track
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bound — tied together
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cap — of ice
  15. spring — of water
  16. bulb — for light
  17. face — to confront
  18. track — a path
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bound — obliged
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. spring — the season

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