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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 a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. scale — size or range
  9. clip — for paper
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chair — a leader
  14. scale — in music
  15. chip — for betting
  16. net — for catching
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. snap — to click
  20. clip — a video
  21. date — the fruit
  22. chip — to eat
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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