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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bat — the animal
  6. press — a publisher
  7. pop — music
  8. press — to push
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. key — in music
  13. press — newspapers
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wind — moving air
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. key — the most important part
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. key — for a lock
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — to sit on

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