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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. file — a document
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bat — the animal
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. chair — a leader
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. field — for sport
  15. date — the fruit
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. file — a line of people
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. file — a tool
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. ruler — for measuring

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