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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. tube — a container
  3. mate — a partner
  4. date — the fruit
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mate — a friend
  7. game — a match
  8. saw — the tool
  9. current — happening now
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. row — a line
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. roll — a cake
  16. mate — to breed
  17. current — of water
  18. current — electric
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. roll — a list
  21. row — to paddle
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. tube — the underground
  24. game — wild animals

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