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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. fall — to drop
  3. snap — to click
  4. file — a document
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. cell — a phone
  7. file — a tool
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. file — a line of people
  10. fall — the season
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the sport
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. fall — to drop
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. cell — in biology
  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