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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. march — the month
  3. date — the fruit
  4. stock — goods
  5. saw — the tool
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. present — the time now
  8. mug — a face
  9. mug — a cup
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. rest — what's left
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. rest — what's left
  14. stock — shares
  15. present — a gift
  16. rest — a break
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. march — music
  20. saw — the tool
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. present — there
  23. march — the month
  24. stock — a soup base

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