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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. spring — a coil
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mug — to rob
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. spring — of water
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mug — a face
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lean — thin
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bear — the animal
  17. spring — the season
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bear — the animal
  20. current — of water
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — electric

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