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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 is an ace ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a path
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bear — the animal
  9. date — the fruit
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. track — a song
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pop — soda
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cell — a phone
  24. branch — a division

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