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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: face · lean · key · fall · content · degree · toast · stick

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. key — in music
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. fall — to drop
  9. key — the most important part
  10. degree — an amount
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. key — for a lock
  15. face — part of the head
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. fall — the season
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. face — to point toward
  21. lean — thin
  22. fall — to drop
  23. face — to confront
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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