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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. tube — the underground
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. clip — a video
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. toast — bread
  11. key — for a lock
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. key — in music
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. key — the most important part
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — a trace
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. foot — a measure
  22. clip — to cut
  23. sharp — exactly
  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