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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. tear — from crying
  3. march — the month
  4. tear — to rip
  5. court — for sport
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. band — a music group
  8. face — to confront
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. band — a ring
  12. lean — thin
  13. face — part of the head
  14. march — music
  15. court — of a king
  16. toast — bread
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. court — of law
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. face — to point toward
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. march — the month
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. tear — from crying

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