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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. race — a contest
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. toast — bread
  10. shower — to wash
  11. clip — to cut
  12. race — humankind
  13. pitch — completely
  14. current — electric
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. race — the arms race
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. current — of water
  20. clip — a video
  21. current — happening now
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. shower — rain
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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