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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. rock — a stone
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. key — for a lock
  6. kid — to tease
  7. prune — to trim
  8. face — part of the head
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — in music
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. roll — a list
  14. rock — music
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. kid — child
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. face — to point toward
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. face — to confront
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. roll — a cake
  24. pitcher — a jug

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