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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. toast — bread
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. charge — electricity
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. charge — a price
  15. cold — an illness
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. charge — in control
  20. bore — to drill
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. bat — for baseball

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