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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. land — ground
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. date — the fruit
  12. board — to get on
  13. wind — moving air
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. board — a committee
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. date — on the calendar

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