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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. degree — temperature
  3. shower — rain
  4. court — for sport
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cue — a signal
  8. shower — to wash
  9. clip — to cut
  10. court — of law
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bank — of a river
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bank — for money
  15. clip — a video
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. degree — from a university
  18. clip — for paper
  19. court — of a king
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a hint
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bank — for money
  24. lash — an eyelash

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