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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: mark · date · chest · bat · pitcher · bank · land · file

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. chest — of your body
  3. land — to come down
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bank — of a river
  6. file — a tool
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. land — ground
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. file — a line of people
  12. chest — a box
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mark — a trace
  16. file — a document
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bank — for money
  19. chest — of your body
  20. land — a country
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bank — for money
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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