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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: plane · date · pop · jam · present · march · mine · rash

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pop — music
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. plane — a tool
  6. march — the month
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. present — there
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pop — to visit
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. pop — soda
  16. present — a gift
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. date — the fruit
  19. march — the month
  20. rash — hasty
  21. march — music
  22. present — the time now
  23. rash — a series
  24. jam — a tight spot

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