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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. rule — a law
  3. present — a gift
  4. file — a tool
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. prune — to trim
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. present — the time now
  14. rule — government
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. date — the fruit
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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