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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. toast — bread
  7. chest — a box
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mark — a trace
  11. land — ground
  12. mark — a grade
  13. sharp — clever
  14. chest — of your body
  15. dip — to sink
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. land — a country
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. land — to come down
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. sharp — exactly

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