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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 · rule · coach · bulb · sharp · pop · tear · court

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. toast — a drink to someone
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bulb — for light
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pop — music
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. court — of law
  11. tear — from crying
  12. sharp — clever
  13. rule — government
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pop — soda
  16. court — for sport
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rule — a law
  20. toast — bread
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pop — to visit
  23. court — of a king
  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