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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cold — an illness
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rest — a break
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. game — a match
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. rest — what's left
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. snap — to click
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cold — the Cold War

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