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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — part of the head
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. net — after costs
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pop — to visit
  14. net — for catching
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. date — the fruit
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pop — soda
  20. face — to confront
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. net — in sport
  24. pop — music

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