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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. face — to confront
  8. perch — the fish
  9. vault — a safe
  10. tube — the underground
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. face — to point toward
  13. chest — a box
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. sharp — clever
  18. toast — bread
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. tube — a container
  23. chest — of your body
  24. face — part of the head

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