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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. last — final
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. content — the amount
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. content — happy
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. last — finally
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. last — to go on

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