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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. spell — letters
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. object — a thing
  6. ground — the earth
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. object — an aim
  9. bulb — for light
  10. chair — a leader
  11. spell — magic
  12. bulb — for light
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ground — a position
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. object — to protest
  18. date — the fruit
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. pass — a permit
  22. spell — a short time
  23. chest — a box
  24. bulb — of a plant

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