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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. last — finally
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. hand — in cards
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. last — final
  12. toast — bread
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. pit — a hole
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pound — a weight
  24. last — to go on

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