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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — bread
  3. drill — the tool
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bore — to tire
  8. present — there
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mine — for digging
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. bore — to drill
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — the time now
  24. drill — army training

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