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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. season — of the year
  5. toast — bread
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. last — final
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. chest — of your body
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. season — in sport
  17. last — to go on
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. last — finally
  23. pitch — completely
  24. dip — to sink

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