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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. branch — a division
  8. toast — bread
  9. bass — the fish
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. plane — a tool
  14. roll — a list
  15. file — a line of people
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. file — a document
  23. roll — a cake
  24. date — on the calendar

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