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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. mug — a cup
  3. season — of the year
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mug — to rob
  13. drill — army training
  14. chair — a leader
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fine — high quality
  17. season — in sport
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mug — a face
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. date — the fruit
  22. fine — all right
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. date — on the calendar

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