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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. last — final
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. firm — steady
  7. charge — a price
  8. date — the fruit
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. charge — electricity
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fork — in a road
  15. clip — a video
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — for paper
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. lie — to recline
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — decided
  23. clip — to cut
  24. charge — in control

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