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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. cue — a hint
  3. stock — goods
  4. date — the fruit
  5. file — a tool
  6. pop — music
  7. toast — bread
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cue — for pool
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cue — a signal
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. file — a document
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. stock — shares
  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