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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. last — to go on
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mark — a grade
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cold — not warm
  11. last — finally
  12. bass — low music
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. date — the fruit
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. saw — the tool
  21. last — final
  22. bass — the fish
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bowl — a football final

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