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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. swing — to play on
  3. net — after costs
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. snap — to click
  8. swing — in golf
  9. craft — a skill
  10. net — for catching
  11. craft — boats
  12. swing — music
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. toast — bread
  16. net — in sport
  17. spell — a short time
  18. craft — a handicraft

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