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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. charge — electricity
  7. track — a path
  8. track — to keep track
  9. date — the fruit
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. track — a song
  12. land — ground
  13. field — a subject
  14. file — a document
  15. land — a country
  16. field — for sport
  17. charge — a price
  18. plane — a tool
  19. land — to come down
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. charge — in control
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. field — farmland

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