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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 found your soul ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. present — a gift
  4. mate — a friend
  5. date — the fruit
  6. cap — a lid
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. kid — to tease
  10. field — farmland
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. present — there
  13. field — for sport
  14. present — the time now
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. cap — a hat
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chip — to eat
  20. field — a subject
  21. plane — a tool
  22. mate — to breed
  23. cap — of ice
  24. kid — child

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