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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. game — a match
  5. fall — the season
  6. date — the fruit
  7. mug — a face
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pit — a hole
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fall — to drop
  12. plane — a tool
  13. mug — a cup
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — not warm
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. mug — to rob
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. pit — in a race

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