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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cold — not warm
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. deal — to handle
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. march — music
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. last — final
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. lash — an eyelash

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