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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. band — a music group
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. chest — a box
  7. ground — crushed
  8. chest — of your body
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chest — of your body
  12. band — a ring
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air

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