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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. wind — moving air
  3. toast — bread
  4. suit — clothes
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. stem — to come from
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. suit — to fit
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. suit — in cards
  23. pound — a weight
  24. date — the fruit

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