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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rule — government
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. staff — a stick
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. date — the fruit
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. staff — employees
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pass — a permit
  22. drill — army training
  23. staff — employees
  24. date — on the calendar

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