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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bound — obliged
  5. rock — a stone
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — a safe
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. rock — music
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. tear — from crying
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. march — music
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — tied together

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