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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: date · lie · march · swing · rest · row · toast · ground

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. ground — a position
  3. date — the fruit
  4. lie — to recline
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. ground — crushed
  7. rest — what's left
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. march — music
  10. swing — music
  11. row — a line
  12. rest — what's left
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. swing — to play on
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rest — a break
  17. ground — the earth
  18. toast — bread
  19. march — the month
  20. swing — in golf
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. march — the month
  24. row — to paddle

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