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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. chest — a box
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. toast — bread
  10. chest — of your body
  11. scale — in music
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. mug — a face
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stem — to come from
  22. scale — size or range
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mug — a cup

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