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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. row — a line
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. snap — to click
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. toast — bread
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitch — completely
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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