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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. tear — to rip
  5. toast — bread
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. current — happening now
  10. tear — from crying
  11. scale — in music
  12. face — to confront
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. face — to point toward
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. face — part of the head
  19. current — of water
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. tear — from crying
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. current — electric
  24. toast — the most admired

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