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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. scale — size or range
  4. spell — magic
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — to breed
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. date — the fruit
  16. scale — in music
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bark — to shout

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