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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — bread
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fine — high quality
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. cold — an illness
  10. face — to confront
  11. cold — not warm
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. bear — the animal
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bear — the animal
  17. face — to point toward
  18. ball — a great time
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fine — all right
  24. jam — a tight spot

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