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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. content — the amount
  3. last — to go on
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. last — finally
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. file — a line of people
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. cue — for pool
  10. season — in sport
  11. last — final
  12. file — a document
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. cue — a hint
  16. bat — the animal
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. file — a tool
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cue — a signal
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. content — happy
  24. bat — for baseball

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