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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: wind · arm · bound · stand · file · date · plane · pit

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. pit — in a race
  10. stand — to bear
  11. date — the fruit
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — obliged
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pit — a hole
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — a tool

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