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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. mark — a trace
  4. land — a country
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. land — to come down
  8. pop — soda
  9. mark — a grade
  10. pop — music
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. chest — of your body
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. present — there
  15. present — a gift
  16. hand — in cards
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. land — ground
  21. pop — to visit
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. present — the time now

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