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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. toast — bread
  4. rest — a break
  5. net — in sport
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. lean — to bend
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rest — what's left
  14. net — after costs
  15. rest — what's left
  16. net — for catching
  17. lean — thin
  18. march — music

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