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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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 — the fruit
  2. swing — music
  3. roll — a list
  4. rest — what's left
  5. land — ground
  6. rest — a break
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. roll — a cake
  10. rest — what's left
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. field — for sport
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. swing — to play on
  19. scale — in music
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. field — a subject
  23. scale — size or range
  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