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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. land — ground
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. rash — a series
  5. clip — a video
  6. hand — in cards
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. bound — certain
  9. fall — to drop
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bound — tied together
  13. firm — steady
  14. land — a country
  15. rash — hasty
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. clip — for paper
  19. hand — help
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — a company
  22. bound — obliged
  23. land — to come down
  24. fall — the season

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