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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. can — to be able to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. race — the arms race
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. club — a group
  11. can — a tin
  12. mine — for digging
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. club — for golf
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. clip — to cut
  18. can — a tin
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. club — for dancing
  21. clip — a video
  22. toast — bread
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. mine — an explosive

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