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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. lean — to bend
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wake — a trail
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. toast — bread
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. root — of a word
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. prune — to trim
  16. root — of a plant
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. lean — thin
  20. root — the cause
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. file — a document

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