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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bore — to tire
  3. pit — in a race
  4. content — the amount
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bore — to drill
  14. spell — letters
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. date — the fruit
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. spell — magic
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. content — happy
  24. arm — part of the body

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