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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. degree — from a university
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. date — the fruit
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. band — a ring
  9. degree — temperature
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. key — in music
  16. row — to paddle
  17. key — the most important part
  18. degree — an amount
  19. row — a line
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. band — a music group
  23. key — for a lock
  24. row — a quarrel

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