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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. squash — the sport
  3. clip — to cut
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. clip — a video
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. clip — for paper
  10. ground — crushed
  11. swing — music
  12. ball — a great time
  13. swing — to play on
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. squash — to crush
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ball — a dance
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. swing — in golf
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. vault — a safe
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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