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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. kid — child
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. rock — music
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rule — a law
  8. tear — from crying
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — a video
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. toast — bread
  19. board — to get on
  20. clip — to cut
  21. kid — to tease
  22. board — a committee
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. rock — a stone

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