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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. spell — letters
  3. content — happy
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. race — a contest
  6. prune — to trim
  7. toast — bread
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. hand — in cards
  10. spell — a short time
  11. race — humankind
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. spell — magic
  15. content — the amount
  16. branch — a division
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. lie — to recline
  19. hand — help
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. prune — to trim
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. race — the arms race
  24. branch — of a bank

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