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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. march — the month
  5. bear — the animal
  6. content — happy
  7. clip — to cut
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. clip — a video
  12. march — music
  13. content — the amount
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kid — child
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bear — the animal
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. toast — bread
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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