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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — a match
  4. tear — to rip
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. game — wild animals
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. present — a gift
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. snap — to click
  13. tube — the underground
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. present — there
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tube — a container
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. present — the time now
  24. toast — bread

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