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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. land — ground
  3. kid — child
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. last — final
  6. drill — army training
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. date — the fruit
  9. drill — the tool
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. land — a country
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. land — to come down
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. last — to go on
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. stock — goods
  24. last — finally

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