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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 bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. face — to point toward
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — clever
  7. roll — a cake
  8. fall — the season
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. date — the fruit
  11. face — to confront
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bark — to shout
  16. net — for catching
  17. roll — a list
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. net — after costs
  20. fall — to drop
  21. net — in sport
  22. track — a path
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. fall — to drop

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