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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. file — a tool
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. toast — bread
  7. dip — to sink
  8. mine — for digging
  9. ground — crushed
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. fork — in a road
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. ground — a position
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. file — a document
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. file — a line of people

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