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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: bass · cell · pound · toast · date · arm · face · march

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. toast — bread
  3. face — to confront
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cell — a phone
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bass — the fish
  10. march — the month
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pound — a weight
  13. march — music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. cell — in biology
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bass — low music
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. face — part of the head
  23. march — the month
  24. date — the fruit

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