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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bear — the animal
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. fall — to drop
  6. kid — child
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bear — the animal
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kid — to tease
  14. fall — the season
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. hand — help
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bark — to shout
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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