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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. wind — moving air
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cell — in biology
  5. toast — bread
  6. stem — to come from
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mug — a cup
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mug — to rob
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. key — in music
  16. mug — a face
  17. key — for a lock
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. key — the most important part

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