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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. content — happy
  3. spring — of water
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rash — a series
  11. toast — bread
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rash — hasty
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. content — the amount
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. squash — to crush
  18. kick — in football
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. spring — the season
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pitcher — in 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