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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. present — a gift
  3. last — final
  4. rush — hurry
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. chest — a box
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. bat — the animal
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. last — to go on
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. toast — bread
  20. present — the time now
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — finally
  23. rest — what's left
  24. present — there

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