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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. march — the month
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. march — the month
  9. capital — money
  10. drill — the tool
  11. march — music
  12. capital — a city
  13. pitch — completely
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bat — in an idiom

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