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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: spring · date · mug · pit · band · ball · last · sharp

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. last — final
  5. mug — to rob
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. last — to go on
  10. band — a music group
  11. spring — a coil
  12. last — finally
  13. mug — a face
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. band — a ring
  17. pit — a hole
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. spring — the season
  21. date — the fruit
  22. sharp — clever
  23. pit — in a race
  24. mug — a cup

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