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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. march — the month
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. club — for dancing
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chest — a box
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. chair — a leader
  18. date — the fruit
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. march — music
  22. lie — to recline
  23. march — the month
  24. toast — the most admired

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