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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: saw · last · mate · chest · rash · date · tube · march

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. tube — a container
  4. march — music
  5. mate — to breed
  6. rash — a series
  7. tube — the underground
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. saw — the tool
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chest — a box
  12. saw — the tool
  13. date — the fruit
  14. march — the month
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. chest — of your body
  17. march — the month
  18. last — to go on
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. rash — hasty
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. tube — in a tire

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