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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. toast — bread
  4. game — wild animals
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. object — to protest
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. plane — a tool
  15. perch — the fish
  16. cold — not warm
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. object — an aim
  22. cold — an illness
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. object — a thing

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