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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. firm — a company
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. date — the fruit
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. file — a document
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bat — the animal
  12. file — a tool
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chip — for betting
  15. field — a subject
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. field — for sport
  18. file — a line of people
  19. firm — steady
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. firm — decided
  22. field — farmland
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. chip — to eat

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