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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. tube — a container
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. toast — bread
  6. spell — magic
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. rock — a stone
  13. tube — the underground
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. bass — the fish
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bass — low music
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. spell — letters
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bat — the animal

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