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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · pop · kick · fan · file · degree · plane · date

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pop — soda
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pop — music
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. degree — from a university
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pop — to visit
  12. kick — in football
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. file — a line of people
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. degree — temperature
  20. date — the fruit
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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