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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. file — a document
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mate — to breed
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. game — a match
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. mate — a friend
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. date — the fruit
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. file — a line of people
  16. dip — to sink
  17. file — a tool
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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