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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. game — a match
  3. race — humankind
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. degree — temperature
  9. lean — thin
  10. pitch — completely
  11. lean — to bend
  12. track — a path
  13. race — a contest
  14. track — a song
  15. bore — to drill
  16. degree — an amount
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bore — to tire
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. degree — from a university
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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