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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. fall — the season
  5. rest — what's left
  6. fall — to drop
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — letters
  9. track — a song
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. chip — to eat
  12. track — to keep track
  13. rest — a break
  14. sharp — clever
  15. rest — what's left
  16. tube — the underground
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. chip — for betting
  19. tube — a container
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. track — a path
  24. spell — magic

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