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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rest — a break
  3. tear — from crying
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rest — what's left
  7. roll — a cake
  8. scale — in music
  9. roll — a list
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mine — for digging
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. date — the fruit
  19. scale — size or range
  20. vault — a safe
  21. tear — to rip
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. season — in sport
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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