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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: date · file · last · wax · racket · hand · pop · chip

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. last — final
  3. date — the fruit
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wax — to grow
  6. chip — for betting
  7. hand — help
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. chip — to eat
  13. file — a document
  14. pop — soda
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. last — finally
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. last — to go on
  24. racket — for tennis

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