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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. toast — bread
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. content — the amount
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — the underground
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rest — a break
  13. wound — an injury
  14. content — happy
  15. wake — a trail
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wind — to turn a key

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