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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. deal — to handle
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. file — a line of people
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. file — a document
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. file — a tool
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. toast — bread
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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