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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. face — to confront
  5. bat — the animal
  6. file — a document
  7. face — to point toward
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. face — part of the head
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. swing — to play on
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. toast — bread
  17. file — a line of people
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. file — a tool
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. trunk — of a car

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