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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. pass — a permit
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. mate — a friend
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. club — for golf
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. club — a group
  19. pop — soda
  20. mate — to breed
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pop — music
  24. spring — the season

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