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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. bat — the animal
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. face — to confront
  15. wind — moving air
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. plane — a tool
  21. toast — bread
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. face — part of the head
  24. perch — the fish

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