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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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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: coach · row · cell · bulb · game · wind · present · toast

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. game — a match
  9. cell — a phone
  10. wind — moving air
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cell — in biology
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. bulb — for light
  22. toast — bread
  23. present — the time now
  24. game — wild animals

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