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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. stem — to come from
  4. track — to keep track
  5. firm — a company
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. pop — music
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. last — final
  12. firm — steady
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. firm — decided
  19. last — finally
  20. pop — to visit
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. last — to go on
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pop — soda

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