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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. court — for sport
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. snap — to click
  6. court — of law
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. toast — bread
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. roll — a list
  23. court — of a king
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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