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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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. bass — low music
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bound — certain
  6. staff — a stick
  7. court — of a king
  8. bound — tied together
  9. staff — employees
  10. press — a publisher
  11. staff — employees
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. press — to push
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. game — wild animals
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bass — the fish
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. game — a match
  23. press — newspapers
  24. deal — to handle

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