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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. ground — crushed
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ground — the earth
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. fall — the season
  8. net — in sport
  9. mark — a trace
  10. spring — of water
  11. last — finally
  12. spring — the season
  13. last — final
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a grade
  16. net — for catching
  17. rush — hurry
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. last — to go on
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. ground — a position
  24. net — after costs

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