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

Word bank: leaves · date · mine · ground · degree · last · rush · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ground — a position
  3. last — finally
  4. date — the fruit
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mine — for digging
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. ground — crushed
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. ground — the earth
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. degree — an amount
  18. last — to go on
  19. chest — a box
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. degree — temperature
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. rush — hurry
  24. last — 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