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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. content — happy
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. last — finally
  6. land — to come down
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. saw — the tool
  9. last — to go on
  10. date — the fruit
  11. pit — in a race
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. degree — temperature
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. degree — from a university
  17. saw — the tool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. last — final
  20. land — a country
  21. pit — a hole
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. land — ground
  24. content — the amount

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