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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. foot — a measure
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. wound — an injury
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. stand — to bear
  16. wound — an injury
  17. toast — bread
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. fork — in a road
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. clip — to cut
  24. tube — a container

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