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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cue — a signal
  3. stock — goods
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. stock — shares
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pitch — completely
  11. drill — the tool
  12. date — the fruit
  13. cue — for pool
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wind — moving air
  16. drill — army training
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. snap — to click
  20. cue — a hint
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. drill — a practice
  24. pitch — a sports field

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