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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: toast · rash · kid · bulb · fall · clip · face · craft

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. rash — hasty
  3. toast — bread
  4. face — to point toward
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. kid — child
  7. craft — a skill
  8. clip — a video
  9. craft — boats
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. face — part of the head
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bulb — for light
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. clip — for paper
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. face — to confront
  23. bulb — for light
  24. craft — a handicraft

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