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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. date — on the calendar
  3. squash — the sport
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. content — the amount
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. content — happy
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. mate — a partner
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. mate — to breed
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mate — a friend
  17. degree — from a university
  18. clip — to cut
  19. saw — the tool
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. degree — temperature
  22. clip — for paper
  23. degree — an amount
  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