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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: file · present · stick · race · date · scale · chest · toast

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. chest — of your body
  4. present — there
  5. date — the fruit
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. chest — a box
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. chest — of your body
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. file — a tool
  15. toast — bread
  16. scale — in music
  17. present — a gift
  18. race — humankind
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. scale — size or range
  24. toast — the most admired

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