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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. last — to go on
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bear — the animal
  7. toast — bread
  8. track — to keep track
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. root — the cause
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cell — in biology
  13. root — of a plant
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. cell — a phone
  18. last — finally
  19. rest — a break
  20. track — a song
  21. last — final
  22. track — a path
  23. rest — what's left
  24. root — of a word

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