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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. scale — in music
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rash — hasty
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rest — a break
  9. scale — size or range
  10. race — humankind
  11. clip — for paper
  12. toast — bread
  13. race — a contest
  14. rest — what's left
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rest — what's left
  20. clip — a video
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. rash — a series
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. clip — to cut

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