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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. toast — bread
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bat — the animal
  14. kid — to tease
  15. fall — the season
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. plane — a tool
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. kid — child

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