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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: toast · mine · fall · lean · pitcher · present · spring · rule

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. present — the time now
  6. fall — the season
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. spring — the season
  9. toast — bread
  10. present — a gift
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — of water
  16. present — there
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. rule — a law
  19. fall — to drop
  20. lean — to bend
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lean — thin

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