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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pop — music
  4. toast — bread
  5. mate — a friend
  6. spring — the season
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. pop — soda
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. fine — high quality
  11. drill — the tool
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mate — to breed
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. spring — of water
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mate — a partner
  21. fine — all right
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. patient — a sick person

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