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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. date — the fruit
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bound — tied together
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pit — a hole
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bound — obliged
  14. squash — the sport
  15. march — the month
  16. snap — to click
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. bound — certain
  19. pit — in a race
  20. degree — an amount
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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