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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: game · bowl · tear · rock · toast · date · perch · last

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  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. toast — the most admired
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. perch — the fish
  5. game — wild animals
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. last — finally
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rock — a stone
  11. last — to go on
  12. tear — to rip
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rock — music
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. date — the fruit
  19. toast — bread
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rock — to move gently
  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