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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wind — moving air
  5. date — the fruit
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. rush — hurry
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. clip — a video
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. season — of the year
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. season — in sport
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. wake — a trail

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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