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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. tear — from crying
  8. net — in sport
  9. race — a contest
  10. net — after costs
  11. race — humankind
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. mark — a grade
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. race — the arms race
  17. net — for catching
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. ground — a position
  21. mark — a trace
  22. chair — a leader
  23. fork — in a road
  24. ground — crushed

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