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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. snap — to click
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — completely
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pit — in a race
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. branch — a division
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pit — a hole

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