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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. tube — the underground
  5. toast — bread
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rock — a stone
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. roll — a cake
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. dip — to sink
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cold — an illness
  16. prune — to trim
  17. roll — a list
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. date — the fruit
  20. rock — music
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. tube — a container
  24. dip — to dunk

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