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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. rock — music
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. scale — in music
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. face — to confront
  8. rock — a stone
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. chest — a box
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. scale — size or range
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. lean — thin
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stem — to come from

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