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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. ground — the earth
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bear — the animal
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mine — for digging
  12. ground — crushed
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. rock — music
  16. file — a tool
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ground — a position
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. file — a document

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