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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. shower — rain
  3. field — farmland
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. face — to point toward
  6. squash — the sport
  7. shower — to wash
  8. squash — to crush
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. face — part of the head
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. row — to paddle
  13. file — a document
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. file — a line of people
  16. row — a line
  17. field — for sport
  18. face — to confront
  19. bound — certain
  20. file — a tool
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. field — a subject
  24. toast — bread

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