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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. toast — bread
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bound — certain
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. clip — a video
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. club — a group
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bat — the animal
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bound — tied together
  20. club — for golf
  21. bound — obliged
  22. rush — hurry
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. club — for dancing

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