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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · plane · jam · date · mark · prune · rash · file

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. mark — a grade
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bat — the animal
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a trace
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. plane — a tool
  13. rash — hasty
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. date — the fruit
  18. file — a tool
  19. rash — a series
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. file — a document
  24. rash — on the skin

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