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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. prune — to trim
  3. drill — the tool
  4. row — to paddle
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. content — the amount
  7. lean — thin
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. drill — a practice
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. race — the arms race
  12. lean — to bend
  13. race — a contest
  14. prune — to trim
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. key — in music
  18. row — a line
  19. race — humankind
  20. key — the most important part
  21. content — happy
  22. toast — bread
  23. key — for a lock
  24. drill — army training

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