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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. tube — a container
  3. craft — boats
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. file — a tool
  7. date — the fruit
  8. current — happening now
  9. tube — the underground
  10. field — farmland
  11. file — a line of people
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. field — for sport
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. current — electric
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. craft — a skill
  20. field — a subject
  21. current — of water
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. file — a document

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