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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. present — a gift
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bank — for money
  10. bat — the animal
  11. fall — the season
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chest — a box
  14. fall — to drop
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bank — of a river
  19. present — there
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bank — for money
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. game — wild animals
  24. present — the time now

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