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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. clip — to cut
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. ball — a great time
  7. land — ground
  8. squash — the sport
  9. present — the time now
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. clip — a video
  13. ball — a dance
  14. land — a country
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. clip — for paper
  18. date — the fruit
  19. land — to come down
  20. present — a gift
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. present — there
  24. squash — to crush

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