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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. date — the fruit
  3. march — the month
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wound — an injury
  11. object — to protest
  12. march — music
  13. cold — an illness
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. wound — an injury
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — to push
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. march — the month
  24. object — a thing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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