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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. march — the month
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mate — a partner
  5. toast — bread
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. march — music
  9. mate — to breed
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. mate — a friend
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. march — the month
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. tear — from crying
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. hand — help
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. tear — to rip
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bowl — a football final

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