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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. land — a country
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. fork — in a road
  8. land — ground
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bat — the animal
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. toast — bread
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. dip — to sink
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. land — to come down
  24. fork — a garden tool

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