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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. present — a gift
  3. tear — to rip
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rock — music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rock — a stone
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bat — the animal
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. present — the time now
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. row — a line
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. present — there
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. nail — on a finger

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