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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. plane — a tool
  5. tear — from crying
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rash — a series
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. rash — hasty
  10. tear — to rip
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. prune — to trim
  13. date — the fruit
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. prune — to trim
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. tear — from crying

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