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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. fine — high quality
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bass — low music
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. bass — the fish
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. file — a line of people
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fine — all right
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. sharp — clever
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. file — a document
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. file — a tool
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. date — on the calendar

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