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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. pass — a permit
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spring — of water
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. spring — a coil
  9. race — a contest
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. rash — a series
  15. spring — the season
  16. object — to protest
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. object — an aim
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. rash — hasty
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. race — humankind
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. object — a thing

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