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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. toast — bread
  4. face — to point toward
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rock — a stone
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. face — to confront
  15. squash — the sport
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rock — music
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. bore — to tire
  24. face — part of the head

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