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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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Word bank
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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. cold — an illness
  3. tube — the underground
  4. date — the fruit
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. tube — a container
  11. snap — to click
  12. toast — bread
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. rash — hasty
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bowl — a football final

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