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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 lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — bread
  3. face — part of the head
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. drill — the tool
  8. shower — to wash
  9. face — to confront
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. club — for golf
  12. shower — rain
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. club — a group
  20. face — to point toward
  21. club — for dancing
  22. drill — army training
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. sharp — clever

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