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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — the fruit
  3. degree — from a university
  4. key — in music
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. key — the most important part
  8. content — the amount
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. mate — to breed
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. key — for a lock
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — a stone
  16. mate — a friend
  17. degree — temperature
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mate — a partner
  20. march — the month
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. degree — an amount
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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