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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: snap · face · toast · pass · cold · fork · date · wave

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. snap — to click
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. pass — a permit
  7. face — to point toward
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. toast — bread
  10. cold — not warm
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. date — the fruit
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fork — in a road
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. fork — a garden tool

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