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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a hat
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. lean — thin
  12. cap — a lid
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. content — the amount
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. lean — to bend
  21. toast — bread
  22. tear — from crying
  23. perch — the fish
  24. wake — a trail

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