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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. lean — thin
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. cell — a phone
  6. key — in music
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. squash — the sport
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. lean — to bend
  19. key — the most important part
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. key — for a lock
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. squash — to crush
  24. arm — part of the body

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