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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: craft · date · kid · dip · present · chest · mark · band

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. mark — a grade
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. kid — child
  5. band — a ring
  6. dip — to sink
  7. kid — to tease
  8. craft — a skill
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. date — the fruit
  13. chest — a box
  14. present — there
  15. band — a music group
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. present — a gift
  19. chest — of your body
  20. present — the time now
  21. chest — of your body
  22. craft — boats
  23. mark — a trace
  24. dip — a sauce

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