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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pit — in a race
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pit — a hole
  8. file — a tool
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wake — a trail
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — all right
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rash — a series

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