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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 · patient · perch

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

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. perch — for a bird
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. cold — an illness
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. scale — size or range
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cold — not warm
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. scale — in music

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