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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. vault — a safe
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. clip — a video
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. present — the time now
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. toast — bread
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — to breed
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. present — a gift
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bat — the animal
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. clip — for paper
  22. present — there
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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