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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. spell — letters
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. spell — magic
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bat — the animal
  13. toast — bread
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. spell — a short time
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. field — farmland

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