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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. degree — an amount
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. degree — from a university
  13. march — music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bank — for money
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. march — the month
  19. bank — of a river
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bank — for money
  22. march — the month
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. stand — to bear

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