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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 have a ________________ here.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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. rest — a break
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bear — the animal
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. stock — shares
  7. bear — the animal
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. rest — what's left
  10. toast — bread
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stock — goods
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. clip — a video
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. chest — of your body
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. chest — a box
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stock — a soup base
  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