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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. toast — bread
  3. scale — size or range
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. scale — in music
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. date — the fruit
  11. bulb — for light
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wake — a trail
  14. chest — of your body
  15. snap — to click
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chest — a box
  19. ball — a dance
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. scale — for weighing

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