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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · present · pound · date · toast · chest

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. deal — to handle
  3. pound — a weight
  4. date — the fruit
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. present — there
  12. chest — of your body
  13. present — the time now
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. present — a gift
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box

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