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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. toast — bread
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. prune — to trim
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. tear — from crying
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. content — happy
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. tear — to rip
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. saw — the tool
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. saw — the tool

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