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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. pound — a weight
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. track — a path
  7. cold — not warm
  8. scale — in music
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. track — a song
  13. track — to keep track
  14. bass — the fish
  15. mug — a face
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. scale — size or range
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mug — a cup
  22. mug — to rob
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. bass — low music

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