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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. present — there
  3. land — to come down
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. lean — to bend
  6. toast — bread
  7. chest — of your body
  8. present — a gift
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rest — a break
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. present — the time now
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. chest — a box
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. lean — thin
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rest — what's left

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