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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cue — for pool
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. drill — a practice
  5. track — a path
  6. kid — to tease
  7. plane — a tool
  8. chip — for betting
  9. kid — child
  10. track — a song
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cue — a hint
  13. drill — army training
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. last — finally
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. cue — a signal
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. date — the fruit
  21. last — to go on
  22. chip — to eat
  23. drill — the tool
  24. track — to keep track

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