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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spell — magic
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wind — moving air
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. deal — to handle
  10. wind — moving air
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. spell — letters
  14. shower — rain
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. stem — to come from
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bat — in an idiom

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