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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — the fruit
  3. pass — a permit
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. prune — to trim
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. last — finally
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. spring — the season
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wax — to grow
  23. spring — of water
  24. temple — a place of worship

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