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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cold — an illness
  5. season — of the year
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. march — the month
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cold — not warm
  11. march — the month
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. march — music
  17. season — in sport
  18. scale — in music
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. can — to be able to
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. scale — for weighing

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