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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. game — a match
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. band — a ring
  6. mate — a partner
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mate — a friend
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pit — a hole
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stock — shares
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. chest — a box
  18. mate — to breed
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. stock — goods
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. band — a music group

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