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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. pop — music
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. clip — to cut
  9. stock — goods
  10. row — to paddle
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. stock — shares
  13. toast — bread
  14. pop — to visit
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. pop — soda
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. row — a line
  24. temple — a place of worship

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