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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. club — for golf
  3. toast — bread
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wind — moving air
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. cold — an illness
  11. club — for dancing
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. pitch — completely
  19. board — a committee
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bear — the animal
  24. club — a group

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