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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. can — a tin
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. face — part of the head
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. face — to point toward
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. hand — help
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. face — to confront
  22. snap — to click
  23. bat — the animal
  24. stem — a stem cell

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