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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: tear · bear · board · ground · cell · toast · swing · dip

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. ground — a position
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. ground — the earth
  5. toast — bread
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. cell — a phone
  14. board — to get on
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. swing — music
  17. ground — crushed
  18. swing — in golf
  19. dip — to sink
  20. board — a committee
  21. tear — from crying
  22. swing — to play on
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bear — the animal

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