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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. wind — moving air
  3. toast — bread
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. content — happy
  8. pass — a permit
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. wind — moving air
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. march — the month
  18. content — the amount

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