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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. file — a tool
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rest — what's left
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. file — a document
  13. rest — a break
  14. bear — the animal
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with

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