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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. suit — to fit
  3. band — a ring
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. suit — clothes
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. rash — a series
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. band — a music group
  18. suit — in cards
  19. plane — a tool
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — a garden tool

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