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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a cake
  14. scale — in music
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. roll — a list
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fork — in a road
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. scale — size or range

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