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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: foot · mine · toast · file · bass · saw · face · spell

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — a short time
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. foot — a measure
  7. toast — bread
  8. file — a line of people
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bass — the fish
  11. face — part of the head
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mine — for digging
  16. file — a tool
  17. face — to confront
  18. bass — low music
  19. file — a document
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. foot — the bottom

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