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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. current — happening now
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. current — electric
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. band — a ring
  17. date — the fruit
  18. current — of water
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. net — in sport
  22. band — a music group
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. pound — a weight

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