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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. chest — a box
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — in music
  9. scale — in music
  10. clip — a video
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. date — the fruit
  15. fork — in a road
  16. key — the most important part
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. chair — a leader
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — to cut

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