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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. race — a contest
  3. bound — tied together
  4. toast — bread
  5. lean — thin
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. bound — certain
  8. lean — to bend
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bound — obliged
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mine — for digging
  17. craft — a skill
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mate — a partner
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. tear — from crying

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