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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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. toast — the most admired
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pit — in a race
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pit — a hole
  17. wax — to grow
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. band — a music group
  21. sharp — clever
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — not warm

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