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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bore — to tire
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wind — moving air
  10. toast — bread
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mate — to breed
  17. clip — a video
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cap — a hat
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cap — of ice
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. toast — the most admired

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