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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. row — a line
  5. chair — a leader
  6. row — to paddle
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mark — a grade
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. mark — a trace
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. tear — to rip

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