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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: row · bulb · jam · face · toast · patient · degree · wind

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. row — a line
  5. degree — an amount
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wind — moving air
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bulb — for light
  13. degree — from a university
  14. face — to point toward
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. wind — moving air
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. toast — bread
  21. row — to paddle
  22. face — to confront
  23. bulb — for light
  24. jam — in traffic

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