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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 · cold · kick · row · rash · bulb · land · dip

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. rash — hasty
  4. land — ground
  5. cold — an illness
  6. dip — to sink
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rash — a series
  13. land — a country
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. toast — bread
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. land — to come down
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — in football
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. row — a line

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