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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. deal — to handle
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. toast — bread
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. land — to come down
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. land — ground
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. land — a country
  23. bark — to shout
  24. toast — the most admired

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