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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. cold — an illness
  4. land — to come down
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. foot — a measure
  8. tube — the underground
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. land — ground
  12. suit — to fit
  13. land — a country
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. cold — not warm
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. suit — clothes
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. tube — a container
  23. suit — in cards
  24. jam — in traffic

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