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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. face — to confront
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. bound — tied together
  5. pit — in a race
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. face — part of the head
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. game — a match
  15. pit — a hole
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. face — to point toward
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. date — the fruit
  24. game — wild animals

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