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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: rash · date · foot · last · ground · wake · deal · object

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. last — final
  5. rash — hasty
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. object — to protest
  10. last — to go on
  11. object — an aim
  12. foot — a measure
  13. object — a thing
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. wake — a trail
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. ground — crushed
  19. deal — to handle
  20. date — the fruit
  21. last — finally
  22. rash — a series
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. deal — a big deal

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