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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. ball — a great time
  3. last — final
  4. date — the fruit
  5. mine — for digging
  6. current — happening now
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. tube — a container
  13. current — electric
  14. wake — a trail
  15. last — to go on
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. last — finally
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tube — the underground
  21. ball — a dance
  22. current — of water
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. tube — in a tire

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