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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · toast · fork · mate · can · ground · cold · staff

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. can — to be able to
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — a partner
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ground — crushed
  15. can — a tin
  16. staff — employees
  17. can — a tin
  18. fork — in a road
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. deal — to handle
  24. staff — a stick

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