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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. kid — child
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bark — to shout
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — all right
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. game — a match
  21. fine — high quality
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bass — low music

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