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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. chest — of your body
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. net — for catching
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. rash — a series
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — a box
  16. net — after costs
  17. rash — hasty
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. chest — of your body
  20. net — in sport
  21. wind — moving air
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. kid — child
  24. fan — a supporter

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