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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. ball — a great time
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. stock — shares
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rest — what's left
  8. face — to point toward
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. rest — a break
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stock — goods
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cell — in biology
  18. toast — bread
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. ball — a dance
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to confront
  24. rest — what's left

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