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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rash — a series
  3. net — after costs
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rash — hasty
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. ground — a position
  8. date — the fruit
  9. tube — the underground
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a path
  14. toast — bread
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tube — a container
  19. net — for catching
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. track — a song
  23. ground — crushed
  24. net — in sport

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