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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. fall — the season
  3. row — to paddle
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — wild animals
  6. row — a line
  7. mug — a cup
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. branch — a division
  11. mug — a face
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. spell — magic
  14. spring — a coil
  15. toast — bread
  16. spell — letters
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. spring — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. spell — a short time
  22. game — a match
  23. spring — of water
  24. mug — to rob

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