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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. ground — a position
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pound — a weight
  8. degree — from a university
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. degree — an amount
  11. ground — crushed
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ground — the earth
  14. degree — temperature
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. track — a song
  20. branch — a division
  21. track — a path
  22. date — the fruit
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. track — to keep track

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