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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: coach · kick · last · cell · date · file · present · pitcher

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — there
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. present — a gift
  7. file — a line of people
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. last — final
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. last — finally
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. kick — in football
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cell — in a prison

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