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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: last · date · bulb · trunk · cell · cold · tube · coach

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  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. cold — an illness
  2. last — final
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. date — the fruit
  7. bulb — for light
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. tube — the underground
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bulb — for light
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. tube — a container
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. last — to go on
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. last — finally
  23. date — on the calendar
  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