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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — size or range
  4. stem — to come from
  5. band — a music group
  6. hand — help
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. hand — in cards
  12. prune — to trim
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. band — a ring
  19. prune — to trim
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — a measure
  22. scale — in music
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. date — the fruit

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