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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. chair — a leader
  3. prune — to trim
  4. toast — bread
  5. prune — to trim
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. content — the amount
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. content — happy
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. mine — for digging
  14. band — a ring
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. band — a music group
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. dip — to sink
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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