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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. fall — to drop
  3. date — the fruit
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. degree — an amount
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bear — the animal
  19. shower — rain
  20. bear — the animal
  21. rest — a break
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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