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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. rash — a series
  5. toast — bread
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. spell — letters
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. rash — hasty
  10. spell — a short time
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. pitch — completely
  15. file — a document
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. dip — to sink
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rash — on the skin

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