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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. face — part of the head
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. root — of a word
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. mine — for digging
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. face — to point toward
  14. root — of a plant
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. root — the cause
  18. swing — music
  19. bat — the animal
  20. swing — to play on
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. face — to confront
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. mine — an explosive

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