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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pop — music
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pop — to visit
  5. rash — a series
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. toast — bread
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rash — hasty
  11. foot — a measure
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. march — the month
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. pop — soda
  18. march — music
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. march — the month
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. foot — the bottom

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