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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. toast — bread
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — the tool
  6. file — a tool
  7. fine — all right
  8. date — the fruit
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. drill — army training
  12. file — a document
  13. fine — high quality
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ground — crushed
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. file — a line of people
  24. date — on the calendar

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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