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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: staff · spell · toast · wound · pit · row · game · bulb

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. row — a line
  4. staff — a stick
  5. pit — a hole
  6. spell — magic
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bulb — for light
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. staff — employees
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spell — letters
  14. toast — bread
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. pit — in a race
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. wound — an injury
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bulb — for light
  23. game — a match
  24. staff — employees

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