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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. plane — a tool
  3. pop — music
  4. cap — a lid
  5. toast — bread
  6. spring — the season
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pop — to visit
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. cap — a hat
  13. current — electric
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. current — of water
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. current — happening now
  21. pop — soda
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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