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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tube — a container
  5. rock — music
  6. last — to go on
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — part of the head
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. capital — money
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rock — a stone
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. prune — to trim
  16. face — to confront
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. race — a contest
  19. capital — a city
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. race — humankind
  24. tube — the underground

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