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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  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. deal — an agreement
  3. date — the fruit
  4. clip — for paper
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. clip — to cut
  7. board — a committee
  8. field — for sport
  9. object — to protest
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. clip — a video
  12. object — a thing
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. content — happy
  15. object — an aim
  16. field — a subject
  17. wound — an injury
  18. content — the amount
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. deal — to handle
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a flat piece
  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