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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — bread
  3. last — to go on
  4. squash — to crush
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. lean — thin
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. lean — to bend
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. root — of a plant
  15. wound — an injury
  16. root — of a word
  17. last — finally
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. squash — the sport
  22. root — the cause
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. last — final

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