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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rock — music
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. kid — child
  7. file — a line of people
  8. kid — to tease
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — in sport
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. march — the month
  13. net — for catching
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. file — a tool
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. march — music
  18. file — a document
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. rock — a stone
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. rock — to move gently
  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