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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. degree — from a university
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pass — a permit
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. date — the fruit
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. last — to go on
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. ground — a position
  16. chest — a box
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. bulb — for light
  20. last — final
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — finally
  23. degree — temperature
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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