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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: bear · key · date · bat · rash · field · nail · sharp

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. sharp — clever
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. key — in music
  5. field — a subject
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bear — the animal
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. field — farmland
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. date — the fruit
  15. rash — hasty
  16. field — for sport
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rash — a series
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — the most important part

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