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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. bat — the animal
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. mug — a cup
  5. current — of water
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — to rob
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. current — electric
  12. rule — government
  13. fork — in a road
  14. current — happening now
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rule — a law
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bark — to shout
  24. toast — bread

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