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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cold — not warm
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. cold — an illness
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. object — an aim
  10. bulb — for light
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — a thing
  13. season — in sport
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. season — of the year
  16. bank — for money
  17. rash — a series
  18. bank — for money
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bank — of a river
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pitch — completely

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