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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. rush — hurry
  5. key — for a lock
  6. clip — to cut
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. row — to paddle
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. row — a line
  11. key — in music
  12. lean — to bend
  13. foot — a measure
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. clip — for paper
  19. capital — a city
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. lean — thin
  22. key — the most important part
  23. clip — a video
  24. foot — the bottom

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