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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. date — the fruit
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. court — for sport
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. court — of a king
  10. row — a line
  11. lie — to recline
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. court — of law
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rush — hurry
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. file — a document
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. nail — for a hammer

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