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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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Word bank
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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: ground · rash · mate · deal · toast · saw · tear · content

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ground — a position
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. ground — crushed
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. content — happy
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. mate — a friend
  9. toast — bread
  10. tear — from crying
  11. content — the amount
  12. mate — a partner
  13. rash — hasty
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mate — to breed
  20. deal — to handle
  21. rash — a series
  22. tear — to rip
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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