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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. spring — a coil
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. spring — of water
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. fork — in a road
  15. club — for golf
  16. date — the fruit
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. spring — the season

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