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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bass — low music
  3. date — the fruit
  4. chest — of your body
  5. season — in sport
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. content — happy
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. court — for sport
  11. cap — a hat
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — the fish
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. chest — a box
  17. season — of the year
  18. court — of law
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. chest — of your body
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. court — of a king
  24. safe — out of danger

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