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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. chair — a leader
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. stock — shares
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. hand — help
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. date — the fruit
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. stock — goods
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  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