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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. race — the arms race
  13. tear — to rip
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. race — humankind
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mine — for digging
  18. branch — a division
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. race — a contest
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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