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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. chest — of your body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. snap — to click
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chest — a box
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bat — the animal
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. toast — bread
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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