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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. march — music
  3. chest — a box
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. firm — steady
  6. march — the month
  7. firm — decided
  8. firm — a company
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. toast — bread
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. bat — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. present — the time now
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. present — there
  23. present — a gift
  24. chest — of your body

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