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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. fall — the season
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. swing — to play on
  6. kid — child
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bass — the fish
  14. fall — to drop
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stem — to come from
  17. swing — music
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. swing — in golf
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. kid — to tease
  24. fall — to drop

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