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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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. date — the fruit
  2. squash — the sport
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. toast — bread
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. mate — to breed
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. content — happy
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. branch — a division
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. squash — to crush
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — a friend
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. content — the amount
  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