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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wind — moving air
  8. land — ground
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. date — the fruit
  19. land — to come down
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. land — a country
  22. track — a path
  23. track — a song
  24. wind — to turn a key

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