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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bound — certain
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bound — tied together
  5. hand — in cards
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bound — obliged
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. chest — a box
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mate — a partner
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mate — a friend
  15. toast — bread
  16. mate — to breed
  17. chest — of your body
  18. hand — help

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