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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. fine — all right
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. fine — high quality
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. lean — thin
  7. can — a tin
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wound — an injury
  10. toast — bread
  11. can — a tin
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. craft — boats
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. perch — the fish
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. lean — to bend
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. can — to be able 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