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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. toast — bread
  6. bulb — for light
  7. can — a tin
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — a cup
  13. mug — to rob
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. squash — the sport
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. can — a tin
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bulb — for light
  24. date — the fruit

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