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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. cold — not warm
  3. season — of the year
  4. toast — bread
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. kid — to tease
  8. row — a line
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. rock — a stone
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. season — in sport
  19. rock — music
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. kid — child
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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