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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: toast · roll · fan · bowl · bat · date · chest · coach

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bat — the animal
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. roll — a cake
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. roll — a list
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. toast — bread
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. date — the fruit
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. bat — in an idiom

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