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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. chair — a leader
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fine — all right
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. content — happy
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. fine — high quality
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. content — the amount
  24. straw — a straw man

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