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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. toast — bread
  5. spring — a coil
  6. key — in music
  7. spring — the season
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. tube — a container
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. key — the most important part
  15. rule — government
  16. squash — the sport
  17. tube — the underground
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. squash — to crush
  20. key — for a lock
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rule — a law
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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