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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. bat — the animal
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. rush — hurry
  14. toast — bread
  15. track — a song
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mine — for digging
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. last — to go on
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rush — to hurry

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