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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. toast — bread
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rash — a series
  7. tear — from crying
  8. band — a ring
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. current — happening now
  12. pitch — completely
  13. spring — the season
  14. rash — hasty
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. current — of water
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. band — a music group
  23. spring — of water
  24. current — electric

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