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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. court — of law
  4. clip — to cut
  5. toast — bread
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — the tool
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. clip — a video
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. court — of a king
  13. row — to paddle
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. drill — army training
  18. ground — the earth
  19. row — a line
  20. ground — crushed
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. clip — for paper
  23. ground — a position
  24. court — for sport

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