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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. plane — a tool
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. swing — to play on
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. date — the fruit
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cap — a lid
  13. swing — in golf
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. cap — of ice
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. tube — a container
  22. cap — a hat
  23. swing — music
  24. wound — an injury

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