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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. kid — to tease
  4. spring — the season
  5. date — the fruit
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. face — part of the head
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. spring — a coil
  16. face — to confront
  17. kid — child
  18. face — to point toward
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. spring — of water
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. foot — a measure

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