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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — the fruit
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. staff — a stick
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — to push
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. staff — employees
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. snap — to click
  14. ground — a position
  15. spring — the season
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. spring — of water
  18. staff — employees
  19. press — newspapers
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. spring — a coil

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