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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. date — the fruit
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. last — to go on
  9. pound — a weight
  10. stand — to bear
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pop — to visit
  15. last — final
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — soda
  18. kid — child
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. last — finally
  22. rule — a law
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. rest — what's left

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