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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: last · bat · date · chest · game · stick · degree · toast

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. date — the fruit
  3. game — wild animals
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bat — the animal
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. toast — bread
  13. game — a match
  14. degree — temperature
  15. last — to go on
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. last — final
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. chest — of your body
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — finally
  23. degree — an amount
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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