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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: date · bowl · jam · tear · mark · band · pitch · file

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mark — a trace
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. file — a document
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. band — a music group
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. mark — a grade
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. band — a ring
  20. file — a line of people
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. pitch — completely
  23. file — a tool
  24. jam — in traffic

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