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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: rock · face · saw · foot · stick · shower · kid · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rock — music
  5. foot — a measure
  6. face — to point toward
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. kid — to tease
  9. face — to confront
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. kid — child
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. saw — the tool
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rock — a stone
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. face — part of the head
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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