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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. squash — the sport
  7. degree — from a university
  8. court — of law
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lie — to recline
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. current — happening now
  14. squash — to crush
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. chest — of your body
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. current — electric
  24. current — of water

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