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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · plane · pop · straw · file · toast · spell · cabinet

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. spell — magic
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. pop — soda
  5. file — a document
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. spell — a short time
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. file — a line of people
  11. chair — a leader
  12. pop — music
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. spell — letters
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. plane — a tool
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. file — a tool

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