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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. track — a song
  8. clip — to cut
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. content — the amount
  11. court — of law
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bore — to drill
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. content — happy
  17. track — a path
  18. cell — in biology
  19. court — of a king
  20. clip — a video
  21. court — for sport
  22. track — to keep track
  23. toast — bread
  24. cell — a phone

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