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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. dip — to sink
  4. clip — to cut
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — for catching
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. court — of a king
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. court — of law
  15. date — the fruit
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — a video
  18. court — for sport
  19. current — happening now
  20. clip — for paper
  21. current — of water
  22. current — electric
  23. net — in sport
  24. coach — a trainer

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