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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: cue · date · cell · rash · saw · pit · march · file

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pit — a hole
  3. march — music
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cue — a hint
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rash — a series
  15. file — a tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. march — the month
  19. cell — in biology
  20. file — a document
  21. march — the month
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. date — on the calendar

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