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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. craft — a skill
  5. shower — rain
  6. roll — a cake
  7. pit — a hole
  8. court — for sport
  9. root — of a plant
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. root — the cause
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. toast — bread
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. root — of a word
  17. perch — the fish
  18. court — of law
  19. roll — a list
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pit — in a race
  22. shower — to wash
  23. craft — boats
  24. court — of a king

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