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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 lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. toast — bread
  3. drill — army training
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. file — a line of people
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. chest — of your body
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. date — the fruit
  16. file — a tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. season — of the year
  19. drill — the tool
  20. file — a document
  21. rash — a series
  22. season — in sport
  23. rash — hasty
  24. wave — of the sea

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