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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. tear — from crying
  5. can — a tin
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. can — to be able to
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — boats
  11. land — ground
  12. can — a tin
  13. band — a music group
  14. degree — an amount
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. land — a country
  18. degree — from a university
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. band — a ring
  21. degree — temperature
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rush — hurry
  24. date — the fruit

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