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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: cold · kick · toast · pound · hand · roll · bulb · cabinet

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. toast — bread
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pound — a weight
  11. kick — in football
  12. hand — in cards
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. roll — a cake
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. bulb — of a plant

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