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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. last — finally
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. chest — of your body
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. chest — a box
  7. cap — a hat
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. roll — a list
  10. current — happening now
  11. cap — of ice
  12. rest — what's left
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. last — to go on
  15. current — electric
  16. chest — of your body
  17. toast — bread
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. rest — a break
  20. current — of water
  21. cap — a lid
  22. last — final
  23. date — the fruit
  24. rest — what's left

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