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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. last — to go on
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. current — of water
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. current — electric
  8. game — a match
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. drill — a practice
  19. last — finally
  20. current — happening now
  21. last — final
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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