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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. date — the fruit
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. club — for golf
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. file — a line of people
  10. track — a path
  11. club — a group
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. track — to keep track
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. file — a document
  18. club — for dancing
  19. track — a song
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rush — hurry
  23. kick — in football
  24. bat — the animal

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