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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. present — there
  3. kid — child
  4. race — a contest
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. cell — a phone
  8. craft — a skill
  9. present — a gift
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. race — the arms race
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. race — humankind
  15. scale — in music
  16. present — the time now
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cell — in biology
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. craft — boats
  24. kid — to tease

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