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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. spring — the season
  6. ball — a dance
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bark — to shout
  11. tear — from crying
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spring — a coil
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. band — a ring
  16. lie — to recline
  17. rest — what's left
  18. tear — from crying
  19. band — a music group
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. date — the fruit
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. spring — of water

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