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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bound — obliged
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. spell — magic
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. bound — certain
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bound — tied together

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