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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. sharp — clever
  3. chip — to eat
  4. land — ground
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. land — to come down
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. land — a country
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stem — to come from
  22. date — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. chip — for betting

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