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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fall — the season
  5. spell — magic
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. clip — to cut
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spell — letters
  13. current — of water
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. current — electric
  18. spell — a short time
  19. toast — bread
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fall — to drop
  22. clip — a video
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. current — happening now

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