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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a ring
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. file — a document
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. band — a music group
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. date — the fruit
  15. vault — a safe
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — a tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. sharp — clever
  21. file — a tool
  22. chest — a box
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. date — on the calendar

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