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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pass — a permit
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. date — the fruit
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chest — of your body
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. wake — a trail
  13. game — a match
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. game — wild animals
  22. shower — rain
  23. toast — bread
  24. chest — a box

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