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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. key — in music
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wind — moving air
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. toast — bread
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. wound — an injury
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — certain
  19. key — the most important part
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. bound — obliged
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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