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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cap — a hat
  5. tube — the underground
  6. saw — the tool
  7. file — a document
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cap — a lid
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. tube — a container
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. file — a tool
  19. toast — bread
  20. cap — of ice
  21. fork — in a road
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. tube — in a tire

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