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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. wake — a trail
  4. suit — to fit
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. swing — to play on
  10. land — ground
  11. mate — a friend
  12. degree — from a university
  13. mate — a partner
  14. degree — an amount
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. suit — in cards
  17. mate — to breed
  18. swing — in golf
  19. suit — clothes
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. degree — temperature
  23. swing — music
  24. deal — to handle

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