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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. content — happy
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. net — in sport
  7. content — the amount
  8. march — the month
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. march — music
  11. net — for catching
  12. tube — a container
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. date — the fruit
  15. shower — rain
  16. mug — a cup
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. shower — to wash
  22. mug — a face
  23. mug — to rob
  24. net — after costs

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