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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — bread
  3. staff — employees
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pop — soda
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. court — for sport
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. kid — child
  10. pop — to visit
  11. court — of a king
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pop — music
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. kid — to tease
  20. court — of law
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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