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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. land — a country
  3. bank — of a river
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. land — ground
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chair — a leader
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. bank — for money
  16. pop — soda
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. land — to come down
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bank — for money
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. bore — to drill

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