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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. land — ground
  3. last — final
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. last — to go on
  6. land — a country
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. band — a music group
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. chest — of your body
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. band — a ring
  21. last — finally
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. land — to come down
  24. safe — out of danger

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