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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. rock — music
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. spell — letters
  5. content — the amount
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. content — happy
  9. toast — bread
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. spell — magic
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. ground — the earth
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. ground — crushed
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. tube — a container
  20. ground — a position
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. rock — a stone
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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