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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. mate — a partner
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. mate — a friend
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. branch — a division
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. mate — to breed
  15. toast — bread
  16. key — the most important part
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. bat — the animal
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — in music

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