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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. tube — a container
  3. toast — bread
  4. season — in sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tube — the underground
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stock — shares
  9. mate — a partner
  10. stock — goods
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. scale — in music
  14. content — the amount
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. content — happy
  19. scale — size or range
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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