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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. staff — employees
  3. rule — government
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. can — to be able to
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. staff — employees
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. date — the fruit
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. fork — in a road
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. scale — in music
  18. staff — a stick
  19. rule — a law
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. can — a tin
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — size or range
  24. can — a tin

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