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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wax — to grow
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. club — for golf
  6. clip — a video
  7. mate — a friend
  8. roll — a cake
  9. pop — music
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. pop — to visit
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. club — a group
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. mate — to breed
  24. pop — soda

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