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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — bread
  3. mate — a friend
  4. sharp — clever
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. mate — to breed
  9. land — ground
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. prune — to trim
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — a country
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. land — to come down
  22. mate — a partner
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. prune — the fruit

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