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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. toast — bread
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fine — high quality
  7. spring — of water
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. fine — all right
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. land — a country
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. land — to come down
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. spring — the season
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. land — ground
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bowl — a dish

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