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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. toast — bread
  3. game — a match
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. rest — what's left
  7. tube — the underground
  8. track — a song
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. tube — a container
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rest — a break
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. scale — size or range
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. ground — crushed
  21. scale — in music
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. scale — for weighing

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