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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. stock — shares
  4. clip — for paper
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — a container
  7. clip — a video
  8. foot — a measure
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. swing — to play on
  15. craft — a skill
  16. clip — to cut
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stock — goods
  20. swing — music
  21. toast — bread
  22. craft — boats
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. swing — in golf

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