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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. content — happy
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. toast — bread
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. rest — a break
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. shower — to wash
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. rest — what's left
  20. plane — a tool
  21. content — the amount
  22. last — to go on
  23. pitch — completely
  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