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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. capital — a city
  4. chair — a leader
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bear — the animal
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. bear — the animal
  13. date — the fruit
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. pop — soda
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. pop — music
  20. capital — money
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. chair — a professorship

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