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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. file — a document
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pitch — completely
  16. fork — in a road
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. file — a tool
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rash — a series
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. file — a line of people
  24. track — a path

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