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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fine — all right
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. toast — bread
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. content — the amount
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. content — happy
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fine — high quality
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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