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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. clip — to cut
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. toast — bread
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. sharp — clever
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. clip — for paper
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. pitch — completely
  17. clip — a video
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. file — a tool
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. prune — to trim
  22. file — a line of people
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. file — a document

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