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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. game — a match
  8. content — the amount
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. toast — bread
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. spell — magic
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. content — happy
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. stand — to bear
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bat — for baseball

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