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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. content — happy
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. race — humankind
  6. hand — help
  7. pitch — completely
  8. toast — bread
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. hand — in cards
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. prune — to trim
  18. content — the amount
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. race — a contest

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