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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. roll — a list
  4. toast — bread
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. degree — from a university
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. roll — a cake
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kid — to tease
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pound — a weight
  16. kid — child
  17. branch — a division
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. snap — to click
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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