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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. craft — a skill
  4. cold — an illness
  5. craft — boats
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pop — to visit
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cold — not warm
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. pop — soda
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. ground — the earth
  21. spring — the season
  22. pop — music
  23. spring — of water
  24. craft — a handicraft

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