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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. staff — employees
  3. mate — to breed
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. date — the fruit
  6. staff — employees
  7. mate — a partner
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. wake — a trail
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. mate — a friend
  15. staff — a stick
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. branch — a division

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