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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. snap — to click
  10. bat — the animal
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mate — to breed
  15. plane — a tool
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. lie — to recline
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. saw — the tool

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