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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. content — happy
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. ground — a position
  6. pit — in a race
  7. toast — bread
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bank — for money
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bank — for money
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. row — a line
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bat — the animal

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