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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. saw — the tool
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. saw — the tool
  7. chest — a box
  8. land — ground
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. toast — bread
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. tube — the underground
  16. land — to come down
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tube — a container
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wound — an injury
  21. prune — to trim
  22. land — a country
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. prune — to trim

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