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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bass — low music
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bat — the animal
  12. march — music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. chip — to eat
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. bound — certain
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bound — obliged
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bass — the instrument

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