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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. net — for catching
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. march — the month
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. march — music
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. present — the time now
  17. march — the month
  18. net — after costs
  19. present — a gift
  20. stock — goods
  21. present — there
  22. stock — shares
  23. net — in sport
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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