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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. content — the amount
  4. present — the time now
  5. tear — from crying
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. march — the month
  8. shower — to wash
  9. plane — a tool
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. march — music
  12. present — a gift
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. present — there
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. shower — rain
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — the month
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. toast — bread

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