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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. tube — the underground
  4. date — the fruit
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. file — a tool
  8. cue — a signal
  9. net — in sport
  10. face — to confront
  11. cue — a hint
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mark — a trace
  14. file — a line of people
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. face — to point toward
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. tube — a container
  19. cue — for pool
  20. mark — a grade
  21. face — part of the head
  22. net — after costs
  23. file — a document
  24. net — for catching

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