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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. spell — letters
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. bound — tied together
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. bound — obliged
  8. court — of a king
  9. dip — to sink
  10. court — for sport
  11. spell — magic
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bound — certain
  15. stock — shares
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. stock — goods
  19. spell — a short time
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. court — of law
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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