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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · face · ruler · bowl · cold · scale

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. toast — bread
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. face — part of the head
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. scale — size or range
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. scale — in music
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. face — to point toward
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness

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