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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: spring · can · scale · toast · bowl · stick · tear · rule

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. can — a tin
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. tear — to rip
  8. can — a tin
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. rule — a law
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. spring — the season
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. can — to be able to
  17. rule — government
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. spring — of water
  21. toast — bread
  22. spring — a coil
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rule — to rule out

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