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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. season — in sport
  4. rash — hasty
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. date — the fruit
  10. season — of the year
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cell — in biology
  13. lie — to recline
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rash — a series
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. rash — on the skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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