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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. ground — crushed
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. net — after costs
  7. spell — letters
  8. band — a music group
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. ground — a position
  11. branch — a division
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pitch — completely
  16. spell — magic
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. ground — the earth
  21. band — a ring
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pit — in a race

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