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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. kid — child
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tear — to rip
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. last — final
  12. squash — the sport
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. last — to go on
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — finally
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. game — a match
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. squash — to crush
  24. tear — from crying

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