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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. foot — a measure
  6. snap — to click
  7. spell — magic
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. spell — letters
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. spell — a short time
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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