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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. key — in music
  4. hand — help
  5. cap — of ice
  6. last — to go on
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. key — for a lock
  9. present — a gift
  10. cap — a lid
  11. last — finally
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. present — the time now
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cap — a hat
  16. key — the most important part
  17. toast — bread
  18. land — a country
  19. hand — in cards
  20. last — final
  21. land — to come down
  22. fork — in a road
  23. land — ground
  24. present — there

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