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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. board — a committee
  3. season — of the year
  4. cold — not warm
  5. hand — help
  6. charge — electricity
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. charge — in control
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. cold — an illness
  14. hand — in cards
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. date — the fruit
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. charge — a price
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. board — to get on
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. arm — part of the body

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