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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rest — a break
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. hand — in cards
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. date — the fruit
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. hand — help
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rest — what's left
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cold — not warm
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pass — a permit

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