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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — bread
  3. scale — in music
  4. root — of a plant
  5. fine — high quality
  6. staff — employees
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. fine — all right
  9. root — the cause
  10. file — a tool
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. file — a document
  15. root — of a word
  16. drill — the tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. drill — army training
  19. bark — to shout
  20. staff — employees
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. staff — a stick
  24. fine — a penalty

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