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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. squash — the sport
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. swing — to play on
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pitch — completely
  13. swing — music
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. swing — in golf
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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