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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. hand — help
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. fine — high quality
  8. cell — in biology
  9. hand — in cards
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cell — a phone
  12. toast — bread
  13. mine — for digging
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. plane — a tool
  18. band — a ring
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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