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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bat — the animal
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. drill — army training
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. season — of the year
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. ball — a great time
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. ball — a dance
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. race — a contest
  24. nail — for a hammer

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