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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — to drill
  10. band — a music group
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. deal — to handle
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. squash — to crush
  21. band — a ring
  22. chest — a box
  23. ball — a dance
  24. deal — an agreement

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