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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. spell — magic
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. band — a music group
  9. toast — bread
  10. band — a ring
  11. dip — to sink
  12. spell — letters
  13. snap — to click
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. spell — a short time
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bore — to drill
  18. spring — of water
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. spring — a coil
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. spring — the season
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bore — gave birth

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