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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. craft — boats
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. spell — letters
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. chair — a leader
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. cap — a hat
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mark — a trace
  17. craft — a skill
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. mark — a grade

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