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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. capital — money
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. toast — bread
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. hand — help
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mug — a face
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. mug — to rob
  14. capital — a city
  15. chest — a box
  16. bank — for money
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mug — a cup
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bank — for money
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bank — of a river
  24. chest — of your body

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