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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chest — of your body
  10. toast — bread
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. chest — of your body
  13. land — ground
  14. mine — for digging
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. rest — a break
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. chest — a box
  21. fall — the season
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fall — to drop

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