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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: toast · wind · cold · rush · jam · bulb · kid · hand

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bulb — for light
  5. hand — help
  6. rush — hurry
  7. cold — an illness
  8. toast — bread
  9. bulb — for light
  10. kid — to tease
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. kid — child
  14. hand — in cards
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cold — not warm
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. hand — part of the body

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