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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 · toast · drill · jam · cell · mate · prune · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. toast — bread
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. mate — a friend
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. drill — the tool
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mate — to breed
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cell — a phone
  21. date — the fruit
  22. drill — army training
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. drill — a practice

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