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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: toast · band · rash · rest · spring · wind · bat · pit

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. bat — the animal
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wind — moving air
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pit — in a race
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spring — the season
  18. toast — bread
  19. rest — what's left
  20. band — a music group
  21. rest — a break
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. band — a ring
  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