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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kid — to tease
  4. game — a match
  5. file — a tool
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pit — in a race
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pit — a hole
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. file — a document
  14. game — wild animals
  15. tube — a container
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. toast — bread
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. date — the fruit
  24. kid — child

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