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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. hand — help
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bore — to tire
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. field — farmland
  8. date — the fruit
  9. field — a subject
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. hand — in cards
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. plane — a tool
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. field — for sport
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. scale — in music

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