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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. season — in sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. toast — bread
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cue — a signal
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — the underground
  11. land — ground
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cue — a hint
  15. content — happy
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. content — the amount
  19. land — a country
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. land — to come down
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. tube — a container
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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