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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. club — for dancing
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mate — a partner
  6. land — ground
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. land — to come down
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mate — a friend
  17. club — a group
  18. degree — an amount
  19. land — a country
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. club — for golf
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. mate — to breed
  24. toast — the most admired

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