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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bass · mine · chest · game · bear · mark

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bass — low music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bass — the fish
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. mark — a trace
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. mark — a grade
  18. bear — the animal
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. date — the fruit
  23. mine — for digging
  24. chest — a box

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