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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. present — the time now
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. wind — moving air
  7. present — a gift
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. wind — moving air
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wound — an injury
  13. present — there
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. hand — help
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. toast — bread
  18. date — the fruit
  19. hand — in cards
  20. current — happening now
  21. wound — an injury
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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