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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. tube — the underground
  3. field — a subject
  4. cold — not warm
  5. date — the fruit
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pit — in a race
  8. firm — decided
  9. pit — a hole
  10. net — for catching
  11. field — for sport
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. field — farmland
  17. firm — steady
  18. tube — a container
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cold — an illness
  21. net — after costs
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. firm — a company
  24. net — in sport

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