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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. cue — for pool
  2. net — after costs
  3. mine — for digging
  4. net — for catching
  5. march — the month
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. shower — rain
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. net — in sport
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. file — a tool
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. file — a document
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. cue — a signal
  17. toast — bread
  18. march — music
  19. cue — a hint
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. file — a line of people
  22. march — the month
  23. shower — to wash
  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