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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rush — hurry
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mug — to rob
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mug — a face
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. mug — a cup
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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