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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. roll — a cake
  3. can — to be able to
  4. object — a thing
  5. can — a tin
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. object — to protest
  12. roll — a list
  13. toast — bread
  14. wind — moving air
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. object — an aim
  20. chair — a leader
  21. can — a tin
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. date — the fruit

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