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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. ball — a great time
  3. chest — of your body
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a dance
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. last — final
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. last — finally
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. date — the fruit
  19. kick — in football
  20. toast — bread
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. chest — a box
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. date — on the calendar

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