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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. rash — a series
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. spring — of water
  9. wake — a trail
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. rash — hasty
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitch — completely
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. date — the fruit
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. pitch — a sports field

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