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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. charge — a price
  3. pitch — completely
  4. cold — not warm
  5. spell — magic
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. vault — a safe
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bore — to drill
  10. net — after costs
  11. spell — a short time
  12. toast — bread
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. charge — electricity
  15. bore — to tire
  16. net — in sport
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. cold — an illness
  20. net — for catching
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. charge — in control
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. spell — letters

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