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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. land — ground
  3. chest — of your body
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. sharp — clever
  10. chip — for betting
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. toast — bread
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fine — all right
  17. chip — to eat
  18. fine — high quality
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. wind — to turn a key

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