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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. bat — the animal
  7. court — for sport
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. pop — soda
  10. prune — to trim
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. tube — the underground
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pop — to visit
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. court — of a king
  18. toast — bread
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. court — of law
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pop — music

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