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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. suit — clothes
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. suit — to fit
  5. cell — in biology
  6. suit — in cards
  7. can — to be able to
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — a trail
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. cell — a phone
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. clip — to cut
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. cold — not warm
  23. clip — a video
  24. cold — an illness

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