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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: toast · suit · kid · wake · mark · cold · ground · date

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — a trail
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. kid — child
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. suit — clothes
  14. ground — a position
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cold — not warm
  17. suit — to fit
  18. mark — a grade
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. toast — bread
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mark — a trace

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