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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: drill · cold · bulb · pit · shower · wind · chip · toast

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. drill — army training
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bulb — for light
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. chip — for betting
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chip — to eat
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bulb — for light
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. shower — rain
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — in a race
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. toast — bread

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