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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 · mine · toast · cell · arm · prune · degree · face

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. degree — temperature
  11. prune — to trim
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cell — in biology
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. prune — to trim
  17. date — the fruit
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cell — a phone
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. degree — an amount
  24. face — to confront

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