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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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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. stem — to come from
  5. rush — hurry
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. land — to come down

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