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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. key — for a lock
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. kid — child
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. game — a match
  8. rash — hasty
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. game — wild animals
  12. chair — a leader
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — in music
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. rash — a series
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. plane — a tool
  22. squash — the sport
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. chair — to sit on

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