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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. mate — a friend
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. drill — the tool
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. mate — a partner
  12. drill — a practice
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. snap — to click
  15. date — the fruit
  16. file — a tool
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. mate — to breed
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. drill — army training
  21. file — a document
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. file — a line of people

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