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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. kid — child
  3. dip — to sink
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. clip — for paper
  8. last — to go on
  9. cell — a phone
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. last — final
  13. band — a ring
  14. last — finally
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. toast — bread
  20. clip — a video
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cell — in biology
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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