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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. degree — an amount
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. hand — help
  9. degree — temperature
  10. file — a line of people
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. file — a document
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. hand — in cards
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. file — a tool
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. date — the fruit
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. pitcher — a jug

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