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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. tube — the underground
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. ball — a great time
  6. toast — bread
  7. bear — the animal
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tube — a container
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. file — a document
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. file — a tool
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. file — a line of people

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