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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. toast — bread
  4. kid — to tease
  5. tube — a container
  6. mate — a friend
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. bore — to tire
  9. staff — employees
  10. tear — from crying
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. staff — a stick
  14. tube — the underground
  15. kid — child
  16. bore — to drill
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. mate — to breed
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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