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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 walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — a grade
  8. band — a ring
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. date — the fruit
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. dip — to sink
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. kid — to tease
  17. file — a tool
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. file — a document
  20. band — a music group
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kid — child

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