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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
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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 · last · pitcher · band · chest · prune · present · content

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. date — the fruit
  3. chest — of your body
  4. present — a gift
  5. last — to go on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. present — there
  11. prune — to trim
  12. content — the amount
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. present — the time now
  18. last — final
  19. chest — a box
  20. band — a music group
  21. content — happy
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. band — a ring

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