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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. file — a document
  4. charge — a price
  5. ball — a dance
  6. band — a ring
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. band — a music group
  11. file — a tool
  12. pit — a hole
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. charge — electricity
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. charge — in control
  17. pit — in a race
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. date — the fruit
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. file — a line of people
  22. ball — a great time
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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