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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. toast — bread
  3. roll — a list
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. hand — in cards
  9. file — a document
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — a safe
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. hand — help
  16. bear — the animal
  17. dip — to sink
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. file — a tool
  21. roll — a cake
  22. file — a line of people
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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