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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. fork — in a road
  4. current — of water
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. net — for catching
  7. cold — an illness
  8. object — to protest
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. snap — to click
  11. toast — bread
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. current — electric
  15. net — in sport
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. current — happening now
  18. object — an aim
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. net — after costs
  22. dip — to sink
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. object — a thing

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