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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. kid — child
  9. fine — high quality
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fine — all right
  13. game — a match
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bank — for money
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. perch — the fish
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bank — for money
  24. date — the fruit

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