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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. staff — employees
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. staff — a stick
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. date — the fruit
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a trace
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. mark — a grade
  14. spring — a coil
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. spring — of water
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. bat — the animal
  22. spring — the season
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. staff — employees

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