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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. band — a ring
  3. object — to protest
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. cold — not warm
  7. band — a music group
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kid — to tease
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. object — an aim
  16. spring — of water
  17. object — a thing
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cold — an illness
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. kid — child

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