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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. present — a gift
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cap — a hat
  9. present — the time now
  10. cap — a lid
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cap — of ice
  14. squash — the sport
  15. degree — from a university
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. degree — temperature
  19. present — there
  20. degree — an amount
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — in football
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. kick — with a leg

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