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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. wake — a trail
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. lean — to bend
  9. kid — to tease
  10. snap — to click
  11. swing — to play on
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. swing — music
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. chair — a leader
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. kid — child
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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