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

Word bank: chest · tube · pop · snap · march · bay · date · fork

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. tube — a container
  3. chest — of your body
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pop — to visit
  7. tube — the underground
  8. chest — of your body
  9. march — music
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. march — the month
  14. snap — to click
  15. chest — a box
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. pop — music
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. pop — soda
  24. march — the month

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