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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rock — music
  3. pitch — completely
  4. fall — to drop
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fall — the season
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. game — a match
  13. hand — help
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fall — to drop
  18. toast — the most admired

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