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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. shower — to wash
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bass — low music
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. toast — bread
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. shower — rain
  12. last — finally
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bark — to shout
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. dip — to sink
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bass — the fish
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. bark — of a tree

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