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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. last — finally
  3. snap — to click
  4. mark — a trace
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bound — certain
  7. last — final
  8. date — the fruit
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bound — tied together
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mark — a grade
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — a partner
  17. kid — child
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. last — to go on
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bound — obliged
  24. tear — from crying

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