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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — size or range
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — wild animals
  7. scale — in music
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. file — a document
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. march — the month
  17. file — a tool
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a dance
  21. march — the month
  22. fall — to drop
  23. march — music
  24. game — a match

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