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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. capital — money
  3. rest — a break
  4. capital — a city
  5. spring — the season
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. ground — crushed
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. ground — a position
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. rest — what's left
  14. band — a ring
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. spring — of water
  17. band — a music group
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rest — what's left
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. spring — a coil
  22. ground — the earth
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. date — on the calendar

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