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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. wound — an injury
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. race — a contest
  8. mate — a partner
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mine — for digging
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — a tool
  13. season — in sport
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. race — the arms race
  18. mate — to breed
  19. game — a match
  20. season — of the year
  21. game — wild animals
  22. race — humankind
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mate — a friend

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