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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. key — in music
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rock — music
  12. land — ground
  13. rock — a stone
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cold — not warm
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. clip — a video
  19. land — a country
  20. clip — for paper
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. clip — to cut
  24. land — to come down

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