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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. toast — bread
  6. snap — to click
  7. spring — of water
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bulb — for light
  11. plane — a tool
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. net — in sport
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. net — after costs
  17. spring — the season
  18. net — for catching
  19. court — of law
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pound — a weight

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