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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  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. toast — bread
  2. bass — low music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. pop — soda
  7. bore — to drill
  8. last — to go on
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cap — of ice
  14. last — finally
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bore — to tire
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. last — final
  23. pop — music
  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