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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. date — the fruit
  3. rash — hasty
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. chest — of your body
  10. march — the month
  11. staff — employees
  12. toast — bread
  13. march — the month
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. march — music
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick

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