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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — bread
  3. mate — a partner
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — a measure
  6. pop — soda
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. stem — to come from
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pop — to visit
  11. ground — the earth
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. pop — music
  14. ground — a position
  15. mate — a friend
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. saw — the tool
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. ground — crushed
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mate — to breed
  24. game — a match

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