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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. fine — high quality
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. net — after costs
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. track — a song
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. track — to keep track
  12. net — in sport
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bat — the animal
  15. track — a path
  16. capital — money
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. fine — all right
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. wax — to grow
  23. capital — a city
  24. net — for catching

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