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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. bat — the animal
  3. can — a tin
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. club — a group
  6. toast — bread
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. club — for dancing
  10. march — the month
  11. club — for golf
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. wind — moving air
  14. can — to be able to
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. can — a tin
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wind — moving air

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