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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — a lid
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — the fruit
  9. hand — help
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — the sport
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. sharp — clever
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bat — the animal
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bore — to tire
  24. squash — to crush

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