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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: cell · date · face · last · snap · file · patient · toast

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. file — a line of people
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to point toward
  6. toast — bread
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. snap — to click
  12. last — final
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. last — to go on
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cell — in biology
  18. face — to confront
  19. file — a document
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. date — the fruit
  22. cell — a phone
  23. file — a tool
  24. last — finally

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