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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a music group
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. toast — bread
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. prune — to trim
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. band — a ring
  18. bat — the animal
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. prune — to trim
  21. sharp — clever
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. wake — a trail

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