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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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. ball — a dance
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. object — to protest
  7. bulb — for light
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. spring — a coil
  10. swing — in golf
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spring — the season
  14. wake — a trail
  15. ball — a great time
  16. tear — to rip
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. spring — of water
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. object — an aim
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bulb — for light
  24. object — a thing

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