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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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. ball — a round shape
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. race — humankind
  6. fall — to drop
  7. spell — a short time
  8. race — a contest
  9. spell — magic
  10. ball — a great time
  11. spell — letters
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — clever
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. land — ground
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. fall — to drop
  21. race — the arms race
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. ball — a dance
  24. fall — the season

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