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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. spell — a short time
  3. drill — a practice
  4. spring — of water
  5. spell — letters
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. spring — the season
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. toast — bread
  14. drill — army training
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spell — magic
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. snap — to click
  19. spring — a coil
  20. date — the fruit
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. drill — the tool
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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