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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: toast · saw · net · kick · cold · date · march · chair

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chair — a leader
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. saw — the tool
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. net — for catching
  14. toast — bread
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. march — the month
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. march — music
  24. cold — not warm

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