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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — a law
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wound — an injury
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. wound — an injury
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bear — the animal
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bear — the animal

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