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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bark — to shout
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. shower — rain
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. toast — bread
  10. press — a publisher
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. press — to push
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. press — newspapers
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. game — a match
  23. shower — to wash
  24. game — wild animals

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