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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. swing — in golf
  5. field — a subject
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. swing — to play on
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wake — a trail
  13. field — farmland
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. swing — music
  17. date — the fruit
  18. field — for sport

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