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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. stand — to bear
  5. suit — clothes
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. land — to come down
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. foot — a measure
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. suit — in cards
  12. land — a country
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chair — a leader
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. suit — to fit
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. sharp — clever
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. land — ground
  24. foot — the bottom

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