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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. chair — a leader
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. court — for sport
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. court — of law
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. toast — bread
  17. date — the fruit
  18. court — of a king
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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