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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bat — the animal
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. tube — a container
  10. bass — low music
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bass — the fish
  16. tube — the underground
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. toast — bread
  19. bound — obliged
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. bound — certain

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