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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  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 — the most admired
  2. mate — to breed
  3. snap — to click
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mate — a friend
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. toast — bread
  14. pitch — completely
  15. clip — a video
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mate — a partner
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  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