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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 · wake · staff · row · cap · prune · chip · cold

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. staff — employees
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. staff — a stick
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wake — a trail
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cold — an illness
  13. toast — bread
  14. cap — a hat
  15. prune — to trim
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. row — a line
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chip — for betting
  24. staff — employees

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