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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: date · rash · straw · toast · temple · club · chest · face

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. date — the fruit
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. chest — of your body
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. face — part of the head
  7. rash — hasty
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. club — a group
  10. face — to confront
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. club — for golf
  17. chest — a box
  18. club — for dancing
  19. rash — a series
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. face — to point toward
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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