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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. present — the time now
  4. last — final
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. present — there
  7. file — a tool
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. last — to go on
  11. toast — bread
  12. present — a gift
  13. pop — music
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wake — a trail
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. last — finally
  20. file — a line of people
  21. deal — to handle
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. file — a document
  24. toast — the most admired

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