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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. lean — thin
  3. cue — for pool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. cue — a hint
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bat — the animal
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. rule — a law
  15. row — to paddle
  16. saw — the tool
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. rule — government
  20. cue — a signal
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. lean — to bend
  23. ground — a position
  24. row — a line

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