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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. shower — to wash
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. file — a tool
  5. snap — to click
  6. date — the fruit
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. fine — high quality
  10. file — a document
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. shower — rain
  13. toast — bread
  14. degree — temperature
  15. file — a line of people
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. degree — from a university
  19. fine — all right
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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