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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. cell — a phone
  4. rock — music
  5. toast — bread
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. game — a match
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. clip — to cut
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. cell — in biology

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