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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: present · pit · squash · date · face · toast · lash · drill

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. pit — in a race
  3. present — there
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. squash — the sport
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. drill — army training
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. toast — bread
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. date — the fruit
  14. squash — to crush
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. face — to confront
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. drill — a practice
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. drill — the tool
  21. present — the time now
  22. face — part of the head
  23. pit — a hole
  24. face — to point toward

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