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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. cold — an illness
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cold — not warm
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. pound — a weight
  7. face — to confront
  8. can — to be able to
  9. face — part of the head
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bore — to drill
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. bore — to tire
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. pound — to hit hard

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