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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. toast — bread
  8. clip — a video
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. bore — to drill
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. present — there
  18. cap — a lid
  19. bat — the animal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bore — to tire
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — a container

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