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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: row · date · bulb · toast · hand · cabinet · season · branch

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bulb — for light
  5. hand — in cards
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. row — to paddle
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. hand — help
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bulb — for light
  15. season — of the year
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. branch — a division
  18. toast — bread
  19. row — a line
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. toast — the most admired

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