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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. net — for catching
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. ground — a position
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. mug — a face
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. ground — the earth
  13. net — in sport
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chest — a box
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. mug — to rob
  21. wake — a trail
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. chest — of your body
  24. net — after costs

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