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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. last — to go on
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. wind — moving air
  7. file — a document
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. date — the fruit
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. stock — goods
  13. vault — a safe
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. last — final
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. last — finally
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. pitch — a sports field

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